VVS Laxman Shocked To See Rohit Sharma Missing From Wisden's Five Cricketers of 2019
Published - 12 Apr 2020, 12:25 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:05 AM
The Wisden Cricket Alamancks has come under slight scrutiny as they named their top five cricketers in 2019. Former Indian Test batsman VVS Laxman is one of the few, conveying his surprise at not seeing Rohit Sharma among the elite crew. The five cricketers that Wisden named England’s Ben Stokes and Australia’s Ellyse Perry as the leading cricketers of the past year. Along with the pair, Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Jofra Archer, and Simon Harmer made it to the list.
Rohit Sharma had an unforgettable year in all the formats of the year, especially in ODIs. The 32-year old enjoyed a blistering 2019 World Cup in which he made five centuries along with scoring the highest number of runs in the tournament (648). 2019 also saw him as the top run-getter in 50-over cricket. Even in Tests, the Mumbai batsman shone in the series against South Africa.
Laxman said on a Star Sports cricket show that he is utterly shocked to see Rohit’s name missing from the list. He feels that Ashes is an important series; however, it’s less significant than the World Cup. Furthermore, he lavished praises on the right-handed batsman, naming his knocks against South Africa and Pakistan being exceptionally crucial.
VVS Laxman shocked to see Rohit Sharma missing out from Wisden’s top 5 cricketers of 2019:
“I think anyone who follows the game of cricket will be surprised and shocked not to see Rohit Sharma’s name in those five players list. The Ashes is an important series, the World Cup is bigger than Ashes. And someone who has scored five hundred; remember the first hundred was on a tough wicket in Southampton against South Africa and none of the other batsmen got runs. And he played another important knock against Pakistan. I am really shocked and surprised, and every cricketer will be shocked and surprised by this announcement from Wisden.” Laxman said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Ben Stokes and Ellyse Perry’s Glorious Year:
Stokes also enjoyed nothing less than an exceptional 2019. He became the first English cricketer to win the accolade since Andrew Flintoff in 2005. Apart from starring in England’s World Cup win, the all-rounder scored 821 Test runs at 45 and 719 ODI runs at nearly 60. On the other hand, Perry won her second award after 2016, becoming the second women’s cricketer to do so.
The all-rounder made 76 not out and a century in her only Test while in Tests, Perry notched up two hundreds at 73. As far as the shortest format is concerned, Perry averaged a whopping 150 from six T20Is. On the bowling front, the Australian bagged 21 wickets in ODIs at 13 and six in T20Is.
Meanwhile, West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell bagged the award for the T20 cricketer of the year. The Jamaican slammed 1080 runs in 2019 along with collecting 46 scalps.
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