Rohit Sharma Reveals The Name Of A Former Fellow Player Who Wanted Him To Break Virender Sehwag's Record

Record-breaking Indian batsman Rohit Sharma has disclosed the name of a former fellow cricketer, who wanted him to surpass Virender Sehwag‘s score of 219 in ODIs. Before Sachin Tendulkar breached the 200-run mark 2010, the closest anyone got was Saaed Anwar and Charles Coventry with 194 each. The following year Sehwag did it too, hammering 219 against the Carribeans. Yet, the superlative speed with which Rohit Sharma has battered four double centuries in seven years is unheard of.

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The right-handed batsman struck his first double-century against Australia being his 209 off 158 balls in 2013. This was followed by 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014 at the Eden Gardens in 2013 before scoring another one in 2017. In between these years, the likes of Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill also made double hundreds, but none could go past the 33-year old. It could remain unbreakable.

Yuvraj Singh wanted me to score 10 to 15 runs more during my first double-century: Rohit Sharma

In an Instagram live session with Ravichandran Ashwin, the right-handed batsman spoke on various aspects of his first ODI double-hundred. Rohit recalled someone asking him if he would have batted a bit more to break Sehwag’s then-world record. Due to the lofty expectations of the dressing room, there were three or four men among which Yuvraj and maybe Shikhar Dhawan were the ones, who wanted him to go past Sehwag’s 219. It seems as if Yuvraj was the only one.

“When I went back after scoring the double century, someone was telling me that if you would have batted another over or so you would have broken Virender Sehwag’s record also. The expectation in the dressing room is really high. There were three or four guys who wanted me (Rohit) to score 10 or 15 more runs, Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) was one of them and maybe Shikhar Dhawan too.” the 33-year old said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Rohit Sharma, who is the vice-captain of the limited-overs side, has featured in 224 ODIs, 108 T20Is, and 32 Tests thus far. If not for the lockdown, he would have been leading the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Under him, the franchise has lifted the trophy four times.

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