"My strike rate has increased but the average has dipped a bit" - Rohit Sharma weighs in on his recent high-risk batting approach 

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has spoken about consciously taking more risks while batting in ODI cricket over the last few years, even at the expense of a reduced average.

Arguably among the most accomplished 50-over batters to have played the game, Rohit is the only cricketer to have scored three double centuries. However, the champion batter has struggled to convert his starts into substantial knocks, with the highest score of only 119 since 2020.

In an interview with PTI, Rohit went into greater detail about his modified batting approach.

"I wanted to take more risks, which is why my numbers are slightly different now. My (ODI) strike-rate (during this period) has increased but the average has dipped a bit. This is exactly what our batting coach (Vikram Rathour) was telling me, 'You have scored big runs because of the way you batted all these years and in the last few years, it (big runs) has not happened because you are taking risks," said Rohit.

The 36-year-old has scored only two centuries in 23 innings during this period but has seen a drastic increase in his strike rate in 2022 and 2023.

"My career strike-rate is around 90 (89.97) but in the past couple of years, if you look at my scores and take the strike-rate into consideration, it has been around 105-110. So somewhere you had to compromise. It is not possible to have a 55 average and a 110 strike-rate," added Rohit.

Compared to his overall career ODI strike rate of 90, Rohit has maintained a quicker scoring rate of 114.22 and 106.09 in the last two years. So far this year, he has averaged 47.87 at a 106.09 strike rate in nine ODIs, with the lone century against New Zealand in Indore.

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"Batting in India is much more difficult now than batting overseas" - Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has been among the few batters to find success on Indian tracks.

Rohit Sharma also pointed to his impressive Test record over the last few years on difficult batting pitches at home.

Rohit has been India's best top-order batter since 2021 in the red-ball format, averaging over 46.50, with four centuries. This included two majestic tons on treacherous pitches in Chennai against England in 2021 and Australia in Nagpur this year.

"Look at my recent Test innings in India. I can tell you batting in India is much more difficult now than batting overseas, especially in the last 2-3 years. The pitches that we have played on it is more challenging than overseas. That's why we haven't spoken about runs and averages of batting unit," he said.

Rohit's impressive batting performances over the last couple of years have masked the struggles of fellow star batters - Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane. He also led Team India to the final of the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC), where they suffered a defeat against Australia at the Oval.