Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma rule the cricketing world when it comes to batting records. Team India’s skipper and his deputy are placed at the No.1 and 2 spots in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, having crossed landmarks, smashed records and rewritten history numerous times.
Both of them made their international debut almost at the same time. Rohit made his ODI debut in 2007 against Ireland while Kohli did so the following year against Sri Lanka. How do we decide who is the top dog? What are the parameters to judge and compare two of the world’s most gifted batsmen?
Last five years
Taking a look at their respective records in the last five years might give us a few pointers. Here's how they have both fared:
From 2015 onwards, Rohit has amassed 5363 runs from 97 innings at a magnificent average of 62.36, scoring 24 centuries. Kohli, on the other hand, has scored 5584 runs from 98 innings at an even better average of 70.68 and crossed the three-digit mark 22 times. The numbers are almost identical.
However, last year had a different story to tell. At a time when it is tough to imagine any batsman playing on the same level as Kohli, let alone surpassing him, Rohit managed to better his captain’s tally of runs and centuries.
In 2019, Rohit scored 1490 runs from 27 innings including seven centuries while Kohli made 1377 runs from 25 innings with five centuries. However, Kohli still had a superior average of 59.8 compared to Rohit's 57.3.
Knockout tournaments
ICC tournaments are different altogether because they test a player’s true potential under pressure against top-quality opposition. When it comes to the World Cup and Champions Trophy, a player needs to perform in different situations under varying conditions. Now, look at these numbers we have dug up from the 2015 and 2019 editions of the ICC World Cup. Here's how they have both performed in this scenario.
While Kohli has scored 748 runs from 17 innings at an average of 53.42 with one hundred in the two editions, Rohit made 978 runs from the same number of innings at a better average of 65.20 and six tons.
So, if you believe Kohli made a handsome contribution to India’s last two World Cup campaigns, you would have to admit Rohit was an even bigger match-winner on the biggest stage of them all.
Conclusion
Yes, the two right-handers have almost similar records in the last five years of ODI cricket but the overall numbers give a different perspective, reflecting Kohli's exceptional consistency over a longer period.
The Hitman has scored a total of 9115 runs from 217 innings at an average of 49.27 with 29 centuries to his credit, while King Kohli’s figures look far better with 11792 runs from 236 innings at an average of 59.86 with 43 tons.
There's no doubt that Kohli and Rohit are the best ODI players of this era and it's no wonder that almost every batting record in the format is held by one or the other.
Rohit is a year-and-a-half older than Kohli, so he's not going to catch up with his skipper in terms of runs or tons. But if he can boost his average to the mid-50s, the verdict may be closer to call.