Who Is More Dangerous – Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma?: The T20 World Cup 2022 will be hosted in Australia in October-November, the schedule for which has already been announced by the ICC. This will be the 8th edition of the tournament and another chance for India to recapture the glory that they achieved first un MS Dhoni at the inaugural T20 World Cup back in 2007 in South Africa.
Rohit Sharma was part of that team under Dhoni that created history in 2007. And the only member of that side to continue playing for India. Sharma is now the captain of India across formats and the competition in Australia will be the first ICC tournament under his captaincy.
Sharma himself will want to lead from the front with the bat. And he will need support from the other most experienced player in the team, Virat Kohli. Although Kohli’s form has been concerning in recent months, he will get plenty of opportunities to get back to his best – first in the Asia Cup later in August followed by home matches against South Africa and Australia.
India will need both their star batters to fire all cylinders at the T20 World Cup 2022. This also begs the question:
Who will be more dangerous in the tournament? Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli
To start off – both are already torchbearers in the format: Rohit Sharma is currently the leading T20I run-scorer in the world with 3487 runs in 124 innings at an average of 32; Virat Kohli is third on the list – after Martin Guptill – having amassed 3308 runs in 91 innings at a staggering average – and much better than both Rohit and Guptill’s – of 50.
Kohli’s average is also boosted by the fact that he’s remained not out in 25 innings, to Rohit’s 16. Whereas Sharma is way ahead in terms of centuries in T20Is: his 4 to Kohli’s none.
Since the T20 World Cup 2022 is in Australia, it would be only reasonable to look at their numbers Down Under. Rohit has batted in 7 T20I innings in Australia where he averages a mediocre 25 and has two half-centuries. Kohli, on the other hand, has played 10 T20I innings in Australia, wherein he averaged an astonishing 64 (remaining not out thrice), and has notched up 5 fifties in those 10 innings. So, unarguably, Kohli has had better T20I outings in Australia than Rohit.
But it is also to remember that Sharma hasn’t played a T20I in Australia after 2018, and in his first three matches there – in 2008 and 2012 – he wasn’t a secured member of the side while being moved up and down the batting order. On the other hand, Kohli has enjoyed his time in Australia – in 2016, 2018 and 2020 – but even he found it difficult in his first tour in 2012.
For Sharma’s case, he is quite a matured, more experienced, more learned and of course, as observed by his recent performances, a different T20I batter. Since becoming the captain, Sharma has endorsed the aggressive brand of cricket: going gung-ho right from the start, putting risks on his wicket in search of quicker runs, and banishing the conservative, settle-in-first approach India had been playing with under Kohli.
On current form, it is clearly Rohit Sharma who is likely to pose more threat to the bowlers than Kohli, whose struggles against spinners turning the ball away has been well-documented, and who will also have to change his game to suit to India’s new approach.
