Rohit Sharma better ODI, T20l batsman than Virat Kohli: Sandeep Patil

Mumbai: India’s top-order batsman Rohit Sharma has been in best of his form recently. While he scored his third double ODI double ton in a match against Sri Lanka earlier this month, he also played a record-equalling knock of 118 from 43 balls against the same opponents in the Twenty20 format.

Former chief selector Sandeep Patil rated Rohit as a better batsman than captain Virat Kohli.

"Virat Kohli fans might not like it but I have to say Rohit Sharma is currently the better batsman,” the 61-year-old was quoted saying to ABP News.

He further continued explaining his stance, saying, “Virat is definitely a great batsman, no doubt about it. He is India’s best Test batsman but when it comes to limited overs cricket, Rohit is ahead of him.”

Virat Kohli signed off 2017 following India’s 1-0 Test series win over Sri Lanka in November, after which he opted for a month’s break from cricket ahead of India’s tour to South Africa in January.

While Virat Kohli has aggregated a total of 2818 runs across all formats in 2017 at an average of 68.73, Rohit has scored a total of 1793 runs at an average of 64.03 in this calendar year.

He further went on to praise the Mumbai batsman.

“I’m sure Virat’s going to comeback from break and score lots of runs in South Africa but when we talk about limited overs cricket this year, Rohit has been unbelievable.

“People may say he has played more matches against Sri Lanka but so has Virat. Whether he is playing only as a batsman or as cpatian Rohit has proved he is best at the moment,” he concluded.

India’s tour of South Africa kicks off with the first Test on January 5. The Men in Blue will play three Tests, six ODIs and three T20s in the African nation.