6 reasons why Rohit Sharma is a great ODI batsman of this generation

Hitman, Maggie Man, Mr Talented, Flat Track Bully, etc., these are the names you generally associate for the swashbuckling opener from India, Rohit Sharma.

For some, he is the most inconsistent player in the Indian line-up; for some, he is a paradigm of laziness; for some, he is the most beautiful player to watch; and for some, he is the man of big scores.

Perception may say many things, but unless and until the perception is backed by facts, the perception makes no sense.

Rohit Sharma's career has been a tale of two halves; one before 2013, where he mostly batted in the middle and lower middle order, and other after 2013, where is started opening for India.

It won't be fair if we club the analysis together, because the impact is tremendously different in both the cases, hence, the analysis would first start with his pre-2013 stage, and then move on to post-2013 stage under different scenarios.

Pre-2013 Stage

The 19-year-old talented batsman from India started his ODI career against Ireland in 2007. He did not get a chance to bat as India were chasing a meagre 171 to win.

Initially, with the top order comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma had to contain playing in the lower order.

Rohit Sharma in ODI’s before 2013

In the first phase of his career, he scored 1978 runs from 81 innings at an average of 30.43 and a strike rate of 77.93. His consistency was not as bad as he scored valuable innings in almost 30 innings out of 81.

However, he didn't have too many big scores to compensate the average. His strike rate too was way below average in this time period. Analyzing it further, his first century came after 42 matches in 2010 when he scored a match-winning 114 of 119 balls against Zimbabwe.

Rohit Sharma’s ODI Performance before his first century

Before that, he had scored 743 runs from 39 innings at an average of 25.6 and a strike rate of 72.6. He was also dropped from the side in this time period.

After his first century, it looked as if Rohit would take the world by storm, but things didn't go well for him, and he was dropped from the squad again following a string of low scores.

Recalled after the World Cup 2011, he looked promising again, as he got successive man of the series awards against West Indies. However, his consistency once again took a dip as he failed continuously in 6 odd matches.

Rohit Sharma’s ODI Performance between June 2011 and Dec 2012

Concluding his performance before 2013, he was not the Rohit Sharma that we know now. There could be various reasons for his failure in his initial 80 odd matches, but the main reason which almost everyone would agree is his batting order, which didn't suit his style of play.

Anyway, moving on to his post-2013 performance.

1. Rohit Sharma in ODI's Since 2013

January 2013 it was when Rohit Sharma's career was revived by MS Dhoni and Team management as he started opening the batting regularly for Team India.

Since then, he didn't look backwards and reached new heights with his performances.

Looking at his performance since he started opening again in 2013, he has amassed 5475 runs in 106 innings at a scintillating average of 60.2 and a superb strike rate of 93.33.

In this time period, he was able to score 25 fifties and 19 hundreds, which is second best to Virat Kohli in the same time period.

His consistency stood at 50%, which is not bad at all considering he plays a valuable knock every alternate innings.

However, the picture is not all rosy in this time period. He has a low-scores percentage of 47%, which is too low for a batsman of his calibre. An aspect which he needs to tremendously work on to be among the greatest opening batsman of all time in ODIs.

From an Eagle eye's view, the stats look amazing. However, the numbers may be deceiving as they might not reveal all the details. Hence, let's first understand his performance in different countries.

2. Rohit Sharma's ODI performance in different countries

A performance in Non-Subcontinent places is considered an important aspect for any player, and Rohit Sharma's performance has been top notch in all countries, barring a couple of instances.

Rohit Sharma’s ODI Performance at different places since 2013

In England and Australia, he has been very dangerous as he has scored at an average of 57.25 and 82.9 respectively, and a strike rate of 82.97 and 97.99 respectively.

However, his numbers take a dip in South Africa, as could manage only 207 runs in eight innings at a poor average of 25.87 and a strike rate of 75.54. A similar situation has been in New Zealand where he could manage only 225 runs in seven innings at an average of 32.14 and a strike rate of 77.85.

We would say these are poor numbers, but again the number of matches played are also very less to reach to a conclusion. He still has a chance to improve on them by the time he retires.

Moving on to his performance in India and other places, his records are mind-blowing as he not only scored quickly but also got those runs at a healthy average.

His average of 70.38 in India is only bettered by Virat Kohli, who also has a phenomenal average of 71.21. Moreover, all the doubts of him being a 'Flat Track Bully' should be put to rest given his superb display of batting in England, Australia and other countries.

Alright then, performance against top teams is also equally important as is the performance at different places

3. Rohit Sharma's Performance against South Africa, England and Australia

Among the top teams, South Africa has been the only team against whom Rohit Sharma has had a below par record. However, 539 runs at an average of 33.68 and a strike rate of 84.61 are not bad numbers though.

But hey, Is there any player other than Virat Kohli who has been perfect against all the teams? "The answer for that would be NO".

Rohit Sharma’s ODI Performance against SA, ENG and AUS since 2013

His record against England and Australia are non-comparable to any modern day opener, especially Australia, against whom he has a 'Bradmanesque' average of 93.33.

Moving on to this performance in ICC tournaments.

4. Rohit Sharma's ODI Performance in ICC Tournaments.

A great player should be able to score in big tournaments, and that's why Rohit Sharma's performance in ICC tournaments becomes equally important.

Rohit Sharma’s ODI Performance in World Cup and Champions Trophy

Rohit Sharma has been brilliant in both the ICC tournaments, and it shows from the stats.

In World Cup, he has scored 330 runs in eight innings at an average of 47.14 and a strike rate of 91.66. This included his famous match-winning century against Bangladesh in quarter-finals of the World Cup 2015.

In Champions Trophy, he has been even better scoring 481 runs in 10 innings at an average of 53.44 and a strike rate of 82.5.

Now then, having seen his performances in different scenarios, we now come to the last scenario, which is Rohit Sharma's performance vis-à-vis some of modern day great openers.

5. Rohit Sharma vs other openers since 2013

Analyzing the great openers in the last decade, apart from Rohit Sharma, four names which come to our mind are David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock.

So, how good is the performance of Rohit Sharma vis-à-vis top openers since 2013?

Rohit Sharma vs Top Openers in SENA countries in ODI's since 2013

His average of 52.6 is the best among all modern day great openers. This may not be by a significant margin, but definitely worth pointing it out.

However, his strike rate has been the worst among his peers with 87.08. This is also not bad, but worth pointing it out.

Overall, in SENA countries, David Warner takes the top spot here followed by Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

6. Rohit Sharma vs Top Openers in Non-SENA Countries since 2013

This is where Rohit Sharma takes his game to another level with his performances. Overall, he has scored 3528 runs in 65 innings at an average of 65.3 and a strike rate of 97.16.

Rohit Sharma vs Top Openers in Non-SENA countries in ODI's since 2013

David Warner, who had the best stats in SENA countries has also been good here, scoring 766 runs in 17 innings at an average of 47.87 and a strike rate of 90.11, but he looks way below par in comparison to Rohit Sharma.

Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock's performance are certainly not inspiring considering the competition.

In the same time period, Virat Kohli has scored 4077 runs in 74 innings at an average of 66.83 and a strike rate of 99.6.

Overall, Rohit Sharma tops the performance in Non-SENA countries followed by David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan.

Conclusion:

Concluding the analysis, we feel, Rohit Sharma had a tremendous turnaround once he started opening regularly for India in 2013. Except South Africa and New Zealand to some extent, he has performed almost everywhere, and in every situation. His performance in World Cup and Champions Trophies too has been outstanding.

Also, his performance vis-à-vis his counterparts is top-notch and better than any modern-day opener.

In fact, the only player which comes close to Rohit's performance since 2013 is Virat Kohli. But again, Kohli is the greatest modern day batsman, and somehow Rohit Sharma's achievements are overshadowed in Kohli's era.

So, Rohit Sharma is definitely not overrated and is as important as Virat Kohli is to the Indian team.