5 Batsmen Who Can Break Rohit Sharma's Record Of Fastest T20I Century

On December 22, 2017, India cricket team vice-captain Rohit Sharma scored a sensational 35 ball century against Sri Lanka in a T20I match to take the whole cricketing fraternity by storm. He equalled the record of South Africa’s David Miller, who also scored a ton in 35 balls beforehand.

However, Rohit’s innings of 118 runs off 43 balls, was laced with 10 sixes and 12 boundaries and will forever be remembered as a blockbuster show. The 32-year-old Indian opener also holds the record for scoring most number of centuries in T20I cricket, his four tons are an unparalleled feat in world cricket.

But given the uncertainty that surrounds the T20 format of the gentleman’s game, records are being broken each and every day and new milestones are being set. With that said, we are pretty sure that Rohit’s 35 ball hundred will also get eclipsed at one point in the future.

So, today we have come up with a list of five batsmen who could break Rohit Sharma’s illustrious feat of scoring the fastest T20I century:

5) Quinton de Kock

A consistent performer for South Africa, Quinton de Kock is a fearless hitter of the ball and has enormous talent. Recently, he has promoted to the skipper of the national team, a reward for his exceptional service down the years.

In his T20 career so far, de Kock has played 44 matches for Proteas. He has scored 1226 runs at an average of 31.43 with a strike rate of 136, that is his personal best across all formats. The 27-year-old has an individual best score of 79* and stats do not lie, this man indeed has the potential to break Rohit’s record.

While the whole South African team has been suffering from a series of setbacks ever since the 2019 ODI World Cup, de Kock has been asked to lead this inexperienced side into a new era. His talent is there for all to see, and he is one of the best bets to overtake Rohit Sharma’s haul.

4) KL Rahul

Indian batsman KL Rahul had an exceptional tour of New Zealand lately, where he reminded the world of his immense potential and versatility. He scored runs consistently, despite being shuffled up and down the order.

In the short time since his debut, Rahul has amassed 42 caps already in T20I matches for India. The 27-year-old has scored 1461 runs with his personal best score being 110*. The wicketkeeper-batsman has an average of over 45 and a strike rate of 146 in T20Is.

Such have been his exploits in the recent past that Rahul has been backed by various experts to open for India alongside Rohit Sharma and who knows, at his age, the Bangalore born player may even surpass Rohit’s record of hitting a ton in 35 balls, on one fine day.

3) Colin Munro

Kiwis opening batsman Colin Munro is another suspect who can well and truly, smash Rohit’s haul of scoring a 35 ball century in T20I cricket. He is currently experiencing a purple patch and has risen to number 4 in recent ICC T2oI rankings for batsmen.

Munro has played 65 matches for New Zealand in the shorter format, scoring 1724 runs along the way. His personal best score remains at 109*, while the 32-year-old averages over 30 and has a strike rate of 156.

The left-handed batsman had a decent T20I series versus India at home earlier this year and Munro has joined up with Islamabad United at the ongoing Pakistan Super League 2020. He’s regarded as one of the best players of T20 cricket nowadays, and could very well go on to better Rohit’s world record.

2) Jos Buttler

Renowned across the world as one of the power hitters in the T20I format, Jos Buttler is surely one of the main contenders to overtake Rohit’s crown of scoring the fastest century. He helped England win the world cup last year, and will be looking to win big again by the time the ICC T20 World Cup comes around.

Buttler has played 69 T20Is for his country, and he has scored 1334 runs, at an average of 26, with the strike rate of 139. The 29-year-old hasn’t scored a century for England in T20 matches so far, but that will only add to his motivation to break the record.

The wicketkeeper-batsman has had a few underwhelming performances lately, but they’ve come in Test cricket, in T2oIs, you’d bank on Buttler to score a century soon and hopefully overtake Rohit’s record because he certainly has the pedigree to do so.

1) Glenn Maxwell

Our top pick, however, to break Rohit Sharma’s record of hitting a 35 ball century in T20Is is Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell.

He has played 61 T20I matches in national colours, scoring 1576 runs in the process. Maxwell’s prowess in the shorter format becomes evident from his individual highest score of 145*. He averages over 35 and has a strike rate of 160, which is unique, to say the least.

Recently, the 31-year-old announced his engagement to his long time Indian origin girlfriend, Vini Raman. Coming back to his on-field exploits though, Maxwell will be in the running to surpass Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking ton when he turns out for Australia at the T20 World Cup, that will be held in their own backyard.