Veteran India batter Rohit Sharma recently reached the top spot on the International Cricket Council's (ICC) ODI batter rankings. This came after the 38-year-old made a phenomenal return to international cricket in the three-match ODI series against Australia. He finished the assignment with 202 runs from three matches, including a century and fifty each. He was even adjudged as the Player of the Series for his brilliant performance with the bat.
Notably, this was the first time in his career that Rohit reached the premier position on the ODI batter Rankings and became the oldest Indian player to do so. Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain was left shocked over the fact that Rohit hadn't topped the rankings earlier in his career despite giving scintillating performances with the bat.
“I can’t believe it, to be honest. I heard he [Rohit Sharma] went to number one and my first question was- when has he been at number one before? And someone said it’s the first time. I mean, he’s been around forever; he’s got three double hundreds in ODI cricket. There must have been some good white players, one-day players in the last 15 years. Fabulous white-ball cricketer, fabulous player, and well done to him. He deserves to be number 1 in the world,” Hussain told ICC.
Hussain lauds Rohit's hunger to score
Hussain further credited Rohit for changing the culture within the Indian team and heaped praise on him to still have the hunger to score runs and contribute for the side whenever he can.
“He tried to set the tone and change the culture of the team when he was captain, and he did that and did that seriously well. He just got all the shots, you can pitch it up and you get driven down the ground. The bowlers just drag their length back a little bit and he's one of the great pullers in the modern game and he's a fabulous player of spin as well and hunger for the game,” Hussain stated.
India to face South Africa next
Meanwhile, Rohit will now be setting his sights on India's upcoming three-match home ODI series against South Africa that will commence from November 30. This will be the Men in Blue's final one-day assignment of the year before they tour New Zealand in January, 2026 for another three-match series.