Pure class and elegant Rohit Sharma never looks to bludgeon the ball, admits Josh Hazlewood

Rohit Sharma’s transformation in white-ball cricket has been nothing short of a fairytale. After being utilized a lot in the middle order, at No.5, the right-hander finally got a break when he was promoted to the top of the order by MS Dhoni. Since that move, the Nagpur-born cricketer’s life has taken an u-turn with performances second best to none, with 7148 runs at the top of the order. 

On top of that, his average has peeked enormously opening the innings for India at 60. In particular, 2019 was one of the best years in his career, where he came up against a host of big names in the World Cup, scoring 1490 years in the calendar year. One such opposition against whom his record is world-class is Australia, where he has scored 2208 of his 7148 runs.

While his power-hitting ability has helped him clear the boundaries, it is his pure class and elegance which have found its plaudit from several corners, including Josh Hazlewood. The Australian pacer credited the Indian opener’s technique before praising his class and elegance.

"He never looks to bludgeon the ball, just pure class, and elegance. His records, especially in white-ball cricket, is phenomenal," Hazlewood said on Star Sports' Cricket Connected show.

While talking about the opener, the 29-year-old also was quick to notice how the Indian batsman played short deliveries. Debated as one of the modern-day best when it comes to pulling the short delivery, Hazlewood’s compliment doesn’t come as a surprise. 

"He's got many. I think it's just with how the ease that he plays, especially anything back of a length, anything short, just puts it away with such ease. It's just an area in which he gets better, I think," he added.