Sunil Gavaskar 'disappointed' with Rohit Sharma over missed Mullanpur ton
Sunil Gavaskar expressed disappointment after Rohit Sharma missed a century in Mullanpur, stating he wants the veteran opener's ODI tons to outnumber his age.
Rohit Sharma continues to silence external critics and cement his place in India's ODI playing XI ahead of next year's global tournament. The right-hander answered back strongly after earlier retirement chatter, posting scores of 101 and 92 against the West Indies following a crucial century against England.
While his recent form has effectively ended debates regarding his spot in the squad, his 92-run knock in Mullanpur carried immense value as it came when the ball was moving sideways early on. After weathering the testing phase, the opener accelerated before losing his wicket against the run of play.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar admitted he was left disappointed by the dismissal because he hopes the veteran will finish his international career with more ODI hundreds than his age. Gavaskar noted that having centuries outnumber a player's age reflects the exceptional standard maintained over a long career.
Pointing to his own playing days, Gavaskar shared that he too desired to match his Test centuries with his age at retirement, though falling in the nineties on three occasions prevented him from reaching that milestone. Rohit, who will turn 40 when the World Cup commences next year, currently has 35 ODI centuries to his name.
Having registered two centuries and two fifties across his last four one-day internationals, the experienced batter will next feature in the upcoming five-match series against New Zealand starting November 4.