Rohit Sharma nearly scored a second ODI century in a row during India’s match on Saturday against the West Indies in Mullanpur, falling for 92 in 85 balls.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that he was quite disappointed that Rohit fell eight runs short of his century, for a rather unique reason.
“The reason I was disappointed with Rohit getting out on 92 is because 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 in time, when he decides to call it a day, I personally would like Rohit to have more ODI hundreds than his age,” said Gavaskar.
Rohit is 39 years old and has scored 35 centuries thus far in his illustrious ODI career. “Had he gotten a century in the third ODI, he would have moved closer to achieving that feat with his 36th hundred. 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 maintained for so many years. That is why I really want Rohit to reach that mark. 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,” Gavaskar said on JioStar’s ‘Haier Cricket Live’. Gavaskar, the first player to score more than 10,000 career runs in Test cricket, retired with 34 centuries in the format.
India went on to put up a score of 351/7 thanks to Rohit’s 137-run partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 129 in 87 balls. However, they went on to lose the match five wickets with West Indies captain Shai Hope notching up an unbeaten 162 in 143 balls.