Mumbai: Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar heaped praise on India opener Rohit Sharma after he smashed his first century as an opener.
Rohit, who replaced KL Rahul at the top in the first Test against South Africa at Vishakhapatnam, marked his arrival in style with a magnificent knock.
Reacting on Rohit’s wonderful display with the bat on his opening debut, Shoaib Akhtar said he was delighted that Rohit finally breaking into the Test side.
“I’m happy that he finally understood the method of Test cricket. Previously he wanted to become a Test batsman when all he needed to was play his natural game without thinking too much,” said Akhtar on his Youtube channel.
Akhtar also shared an incident in which he revealed how he had motivated Rohit back in 2013.
“In 2013 in a gym in Bangladesh, I asked Rohit what is your name? He replied, ‘you know it brother, It’s Rohit Sharma’. I said, add great in front of Rohit Sharma because there is no bigger batsman in Indian cricket than you,” added Akhtar.
Akhtar further said that Rohit is also turning out to be a modern-day great like Virat Kohli and Steven Smith. The former Pakistan pacer also said that in future when India face-off against England in a five-match Test series, Rohit could amass 1000 runs.
