"How many times did Virat get out doing just that?" - Former batter's blunt Rohit Sharma comparison with Virat Kohli post stalwarts' Test retirement

Former South African batter Herschelle Gibbs has said that Rohit Sharma was a technically better batter than Virat Kohli. He added, though, that the latter's desire to dominate, especially in colored clothing was the differential point between the two.

In a conversation with users on social media platform X, Gibbs questioned the number of times Sharma fell to balls pitched on the fourth or fifth stumps. Sharma and Kohli retired from the longest format of the game in the space of less than a week. The former quit Test cricket last week on Wednesday, May 7, while the latter retired this Monday, May 12.

"Rohit was always more technically correct than virat but virats desire to dominate especially in white ball format is a major difference between the 2 batters," Gibbs wrote on X.

"You ever see Rohit defend balls on 4th or 5th stump ? How many times did virat get out doing just that ? Rohit definitely technically better than virat," Gibbs added.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's departures leave India with the need of a huge rebuild

The retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Test cricket has left India with a need to rebuild in the longest format. The departure of the former has left the team without a captain, with former players and experts divided over Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah to take over the reins.

Kohli's departure from Test cricket has left India without sufficient experience as they enter a new World Test Championship cycle, beginning with a five-match series against England at Leeds on June 20.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that Kohli changed the way India played Test cricket and played a key role in India becoming number one in Test cricket. Both players will, however, continue to play 50-over cricket for the country. India's next ODI assignment is a three-match series against Bangladesh in Bangladesh in August.