Robin Uthappa Lavishes Praise On Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli

Veteran batsman Robin Uthappa has lavished praise on India skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma. The out-of-favour India batsman was all praise for the way both Rohit and Kohli approach their batting.

At present, Kohli and Rohit are two of the best batsmen in the world. While Kohli is regarded widely as the best all-format player, Rohit is not very far behind either especially in limited-overs format. Earlier this year, Rohit was named the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year.

In the process, Rohit ended Kohli’s stronghold on the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award. The India captain had won the award in last two years. Robin Uthappa praised both the batsmen, saying that while Rohit has ‘got eternity to play a ball, Kohli has planned well for each version of the game.

“When I look at Rohit Sharma, I feel he has got eternity to play a ball. It just baffles you like where does he create that time. It’s amazing to watch and so effortless.

“Even Virat for that matter, when you watch him bat from one version of the game to another, you can see how clearly, he has planned for each version of the game,” Robin Uthappa said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

He then went on to laud Kohli for the way he approaches the game as a batsman purely based on the format he is playing in. At present, Kohli is the only batsman in international cricket who averages over 50 in all three formats of the game and is even ranked No.1 in ODIs.

“In one-day cricket, he almost never hits the ball in the air, unless it’s completely required during the course of the game. Similarly, in Test cricket, he is only going to hit the ball in the air once he has passed 120 or 150. But in T20 cricket, he pulls out the big shots and his orthodox big shots that you don’t even think that he will play it, because you have seen him play so much of good cricket along the ground in ODI & Test cricket that you don’t anticipate him playing that.

“Suddenly, the bowlers have to plan for each version of the game. For me, someone like Virat, the way he approaches each version of the game is just phenomenal. It’s kind of inspiring, like what must be going through that mind for him to be able to concede those ideas and say, ‘Ok, these are my shots for T20 cricket, these are my shots for one-day cricket, and these are my shots for 5-day cricket. It’s just amazing,” said Robin Uthappa.

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