ICC World Cup 2019 | You would be a fool to be tempted to bat like Rohit Sharma, says KL Rahul

After India’s major player in ICC tournaments, Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the World Cup with a hairline fracture on his thumb, Rohit Sharma emerged as the illuminating light for the Indian team and became only the second player after Kumar Sangakkara to score four centuries in one World Cup. 

His innings against Bangladesh typified his cricket and on a wicket which became considerably slow as the game progressed, Rohit didn’t show any signs of uneasiness. Rahul lauded that quality while saying one would be a fool to be tempted to bat like his opening partner.

“You would be a fool to be tempted to bat like Rohit because he is in a different class. He is on a different planet altogether when he gets going,” Rahul said after the game, reported PTI.

“He made it look really easy [against Bangladesh] when really it wasn’t anything of the kind. The pitch was two-paced, up and down, not coming on to the bat, but from the way he played you would not have known," he added.

While India’s middle-order has somehow shaky in the tournament - barring the exception of Hardik Pandya - the team has managed to get over the line quite efficiently. The Virat Kohli-led team stands second on the points table, with six wins and one loss from eight games - and Rahul attributed that to the entire team.

“We expect it from him and he is delivering every time. To bat with him is really easy because he takes the pressure off you. He keeps getting the boundaries and the scoreboard keeps ticking, I just have to keep there with him. It is great fun. He has scored the most runs for the team, but everyone else has chipped in and we have talked about that as a team, to keep the contributions coming from the middle order and at the death,” Rahul said.