Aakash Chopra kicks aside Virat Kohli and claims Rohit Sharma is best Indian batter on turning tracks

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on skipper Rohit Sharma despite the Men in Blue's recent three-match ODI series loss against Sri Lanka. Aakash Chopra highlighted that Rohit Sharma is the best batter for the team over the rest of the players, including Virat Kohli, on turning tracks.

Team India's batting department delivered poor performances throughout the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. The Indian team lost the series to Sri Lanka by a margin of 2-0 despite having a full-strength squad. Batters like Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer struggled to score runs.

Rohit Sharma was the leading run scorer with 157 runs at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44. The skipper registered scores of 58, 64, and 35 runs in the three matches. However, Rohit lacked support from his teammates. Axar Patel was the second-highest scorer with 79 runs, almost half of Rohit's total.

Rohit Sharma Is Cut Above The Rest - Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Rohit Sharma has the ability to provide a flying start with the bat in the power play.

"Now, let's talk about batting. There is one thing in batting. He (Rohit Sharma) is cut above the rest if pitch is turning the pitch, especially as he opens, he gets a bit of fast bowling as well. He gets a bit of hard ball as well." Chopra said.

India batted second in all three ODIs and struggled against Sri Lankan spinners on turning pitches. They tied the first match, with both teams scoring 230 runs. Sri Lanka then won the next two games by 32 runs and 110 runs. The visiting team was bowled out for 208 runs and 138 runs in the last two matches.

This Thing Bothers You - Aakash Chopra

The cricketer-turned-commentator said that bowlers are often a bit scared when facing Rohit Sharma. Chopra added that batting looks easy as long as Rohit is at the crease. He mentioned that India faced collapses after Rohit's wicket in all three matches.

"When bowlers bowl to him they are a bit scared. Where should I bowl? How should I bowl? How should I get out of here? We have seen that he is like that. As long as he played, in all three matches, we felt that batting is easy. As soon as he gets out, we feel that batting is not possible. So, this pattern comes up. And this thing bothers you," Chopra added.

The Rohit Sharma-led team lost 27 out of 30 wickets in the series to spin bowlers. Sri Lanka's Jeffrey Vandersay took eight wickets in two matches, including a six-wicket haul during the second ODI match. Dunith Wellalage and Charith Asalanka each claimed seven and six wickets respectively in three matches.

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