Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith believes Indian batsman Rohit Sharma has all the qualities and shots in him to be the next Virender Sehwag, who on Tuesday retired from all forms of international cricket.
Delhi-born Sehwag will play in the Masters Champions League (MCL), which he launched here on Monday with other stars like Brian Lara, Smith, Michael Vaughan — a tournament to be held early next year for retired cricketers.
“It is very difficult to replace players like Sehwag. He was a naturally attacking batsman and Rohit Sharma has shown that kind of flare in the series so far. It is all about combinations at the end of the day and how opening partners complement each other,” Smith was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.
“Rohit has got all the shots to be a Virender Sehwag. He has been dynamic, has got two double hundreds and already has a 150 to his name (in ongoing series against South Africa). He is a good player of spin and picks up fast bowling really well. India would like Shikhar Dhawan to find form and if that is sorted, then you have a good combination going.”
The former left-handed batsman pointed out that Rohit might have scored big in home conditions but his main challenge will be when he plays abroad.
“His challenge is always going to be when he goes abroad to Australia or South Africa to adapt well to the harder and newer ball there. But he has certainly got all the strokes. He is confident in himself and his own game has grown immensely. He has been a beautiful player to watch on this tour,” he said.
In a career spanning over 15 years in international cricket, Sehwag featured in 104 Tests and scored 8,586 runs at a staggering average of 49.34. In 251 One-Day Internationals (ODI), he amassed 8,273 runs at an average of 35.05.
