Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli: Who is a better player?

Tests

Rohit is yet to cement his spot in the Test team

Rohit Sharma was supposed to make his Test debut way back in 2010 against South Africa in Ahmedabad, much before Virat Kohli was drafted to the Test squad, but an injury to him just before the toss delayed his debut by three years.

In those three years, Kohli got his test cap, got dropped, made a comeback and sealed his place in the side.

They had a contrasting start in Tests as Rohit scored two centuries in his first two matches, but hasn't added to his tally since then. Kohli, on the other hand, had a poor start to his Test career as he was dropped from the team after playing just two matches.

When the Delhite made his comeback in late 2011, he was still struggling during the 2011-12 tour of Australia and could have been easily dropped midway to accommodate Rohit, but MS Dhoni decided to give Kohli one more chance and as they say, the rest is history.

Rohit's loss was Kohli's gain as the Delhi batsman notched up his first century in Adelaide and since then, there was no turning back for him in the format.

By the time Rohit made his debut, Kohli already had four centuries and was tipped to replace Sachin after his retirement, which happened to be Rohit's debut series. After a great start to his career, the Mumbaikar toured overseas and after some not-so promising performances, he was dropped from the team, later made a comeback just to be dropped again and make yet another comeback.

It's almost four years since Rohit made his Test debut and he is yet to cement his place in the playing XI.

In the mean time, Kohli has scored 13 centuries and was appointed as the captain of the Indian Test team. To be fair, Rohit was never given a decent run with a proper role in the Test side.

He was given one in the series against New Zealand in 2016 where scored three fifties in three consecutive matches. What happened after that? Rohit got injured and was eventually made to sit out to accommodate an extra bowler.

Verdict: Virat Kohli is easily one of the most improved players in the longer formats in the last three years and is on his way to greatness. Rohit, on the other hand, is looking for an opportunity to seal his place in the playing XI.

At this point of time, Kohli is miles ahead of Rohit in this format.