Rohit Sharma is on course to become the greatest batsman of the modern era

"There is a general feel in world cricket that one ‘out of this world’ innings is due from his bat, something of greater insanity than his double hundreds"

Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Joe Root… and there ends the bracket which holds modern day greats or at least it has been like that up till now. It’s a matter of wonder how a batsman with three double hundreds in ODIs is not a part of that list. The critics have always blamed Rohit’s inability to cement his place in test cricket as the prime reason for the ignorance.

The kind of monstrous impact Rohit can have in a one day game is matched by none. Once he activates the notorious beast mode, there is no stopping him. He simply toys with the some of the fiercest attacks of the world. Imagine a pro dropping by at a gully cricket match and bullying the kids. The scenes on the ground are no different when the hitman goes full throttle. Some of his shots defy the laws of physics. And yet you feel there is more to come. There are batsmen who hit their peak and you just know it. But not with Rohit Sharma, his arsenal is still brimming with ammunition. There is a general feel in world cricket that one ‘out of this world’ innings is due from his bat, something of greater insanity than his double hundreds. There is something alien about his timing. There are players like Dhoni, Pollard and Gayle who muscle the bowl out of the park. But when the ball meets Rohit’s bat it flies off like a Diwali rocket.

There is Virat’s consistency and Steve Smith’s unorthodoxy. They are greats in their own ways. But none of them sport the aura that Rohit has when he hits top gear. Virat’s cover drives are beautiful to watch, cricketing orgasm in every sense. But Rohit’s effortless sixes have a magic about them. Destruction has never been so sublime.

All that and yet Rohit had been missing from the list of fab four of the era. But then arrived Rohit the test batsman and within a span of three test matches he has altered calculations of cricket pundits across the world. The flow of runs from Rohit’s bat at top of the order is making fans feel they had been kept devoid of something Sehwagish. Just like Sehwag, Rohit cares little about the guidebook of batting in a test match. He just comes, sees off the new ball and uncaps the six-hitting giant in him regardless of the match situation. Three test matches, that’s all it took Rohit Sharma to snap several test records –highest number of sixes in an innings/series, top scorer in a series against South Africa, second only to Smith in Test championship and what not. At the pace at which Rohit is building his test career makes one feel that he playing catch-up, not with anybody else, for there is nobody like him but with the test maestro he could have become long ago.