Sunil Gavaskar hopes Rohit Sharma surpasses age with ODI centuries

Sunil Gavaskar expressed his desire for Rohit Sharma to retire with more One Day International (ODI) centuries than his age following Sharma’s 92-run innings against the West Indies in the third and final ODI on October 3.

Despite Sharma’s commanding knock, Gavaskar was disappointed the Indian opener was dismissed short of a century. He stated, “The reason I was disappointed with Rohit getting out on 92 is that he didn’t get a hundred, and he might possibly quit international cricket after the end of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. And at that particular point of time, when he decides to call it a day, I personally would like Rohit to have more ODI hundreds than his age.” Gavaskar noted that had Sharma reached a century in the third ODI, it would have marked his 36th ODI hundred, bringing him closer to this milestone.

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Gavaskar reflected on this feat, saying, “For me, it’s a special thing when a player’s hundreds outnumber his age at retirement. It shows the kind of career they have had and the standard they have kept for so many years. That is why I really want Rohit to reach that mark.” He also shared a personal anecdote: “In my last year of international cricket, I wanted to get as many Test centuries as my age, and I got out in the 90s thrice. If I’d got those hundreds, then my centuries would have matched the age of my retirement, which was 38.”

Sharma currently has 35 ODI centuries to his name. India won the three-match ODI series against the West Indies 2-1, despite losing the final match where the West Indies chased down a target of 352 runs, powered by an unbeaten 162 from captain Shai Hope.

In the third ODI, Sharma rose to the occasion after early dismissals of captain Shubman Gill (1) and Virat Kohli (0), scoring 92 runs off 85 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes.

Gavaskar also observed a change in Sharma’s batting approach since the 2023 ODI World Cup, highlighting the opener’s increased focus on preserving his wicket and converting starts into substantial scores. He commented, “A slight change has appeared in the batting template of Rohit that he himself set as the captain for the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he was going bang-bang from the first ball, irrespective of the possibility of getting out sooner. Now he recognises that his wicket is valuable.”

He added, “In that 2023 World Cup, he got the team off to great starts, but he’s not a batsman who will score just 30-40 runs. He’s a hundred-maker! And therefore, I’m happy to see him score big runs. Yes, I know he missed out on a well-deserved ton in this match, but he got a hundred in the previous game. So, the fact that he’s recognising that his job as a batter is also to get a hundred, and if he scores big, he gets a hundred in 70-80 deliveries, which is helpful for the team because that is a great scoring rate in a 50-over game and it also keeps him away from the social media critics of slow batting.”

Rohit Sharma has maintained strong form in recent ODI series. Amid speculation that the third ODI against England at Lord’s could be his final international match, having retired from T20 Internationals and Tests, Sharma scored a superb 138 off 110 balls, including 17 fours and five sixes, in India’s 388-run chase, although the team fell short by 27 runs.

He concluded the three-match England ODI series with 175 runs at an average of 58.33 and strike rate of 98.31. Sharma then continued his form in the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies, accumulating 225 runs in three matches.