Despite Virat Kohli’s records, would prefer watching elegant Rohit Sharma bat, reveals Mohammad Kaif

Virat Kohli’s tremendous numbers do make him one of the modern-day beasts, with the right-handed batsman breaking several records in World cricket. Despite Kohli having scored 21,901 runs in international cricket, Mohammad Kaif reckoned that he would watch Rohit Sharma bat over the Indian skipper. His reason, however, does not purely stick to just numbers, with Kaif preferring Rohit for his sheer elegance. 

“If there are two matches happening in the same city simultaneously and Virat is playing in one and Rohit in another, then I will head to the match featuring Rohit Sharma,” Kaif said on YouTube channel SportScreen.

After being promoted as an opener in 2014, Rohit has taken his game to another level, with numbers on parallel with some of the world’s top batsmen. Alongside that, the Mumbaikar’s relative ease with which he clears the boundary has made him a fan favourite. 

“No doubt, Virat has an outstanding record in Tests and white-ball cricket, but Rohit has the elegance, so much time while facing a bowler. He is one batsman who can smash a bowler without the bowler even realising that he is under attack.”

However, talking about the Indian fielders, Kaif was a little concerned about India’s slip-fielding. In the past global tournaments, India have suffered heavily in the slip-cordon, where catches have gone down in plenty. 

“Today, you will find a lot of good fielders in the Indian team, but I don’t think there is anyone who is a complete package as a fielder. A person who can catch in the slips, who can take a catch at short-leg, can field in long-on boundary by running fast: that package, I think, is missing,” he concluded.