3 records that Rohit Sharma can break in 2023 World Cup
Rohit Sharma will captain India in an ODI World Cup for the first time in the ongoing edition of the mega event. India will open their campaign tomorrow afternoon against five-time champions Australia.
Last year, India qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, where England defeated them by 10 wickets. Sharma, who has won five IPL trophies as captain, will be keen to win his first World Cup trophy as the Indian skipper this year.
Apart from leadership, fans will expect Rohit Sharma to perform well with the willow as well. He played a big role in India's success at the 2019 World Cup, where he registered five centuries and set a new record for the most hundreds by a batter in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.
Before Rohit plays his first match in the 2023 World Cup, here's a look at the three records that he can break at this year's mega event.
#1 Rohit Sharma can break Chris Gayle's world record
Sharma is a big-hitter of the ball. He is popularly known as the Hitman because he can smack the ball out of the park at any point in the match. So far in his international career, Sharma has hit 551 sixes across all three formats.
Chris Gayle is currently at the top of the all-time list with 553 sixes. If Rohit Sharma whacks three maximums in the 2023 World Cup, he will become the new owner of the number one position on this list.
India will play at least nine matches in the league round of the 2023 World Cup. Considering how Sharma approaches the game, it should not be a surprise if he breaks Gayle's record in the next two or three matches only.
#2 Rohit Sharma can break Sachin Tendulkar's record
Rohit has scored six hundreds in his ODI World Cup career so far, which is the joint-highest along with former Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar. If Rohit records one century in the 2023 World Cup, he will become the undisputed owner of the record for the most hundreds in ODI World Cup history.
Shedding some light on his World Cup numbers so far, Rohit has scored 978 runs in just 17 innings. He scored his maiden World Cup ton against Bangladesh in the 2015 edition's quarterfinals, while he touched triple figures in five games of the 2019 World Cup.
While Rohit has not recorded big scores in his recent ODI knocks, he is likely to register at least one century in the 2023 World Cup.
#3 Rohit Sharma can break Yuvraj Singh's record
Another World Cup record which is jointly held by two players is the record for the Most Man of the Match awards by an Indian in a single edition of the mega event. Yuvraj Singh won it four times in 2011, while Rohit also won four awards in 2019.
If Rohit finds his golden touch at the grand stage, he can better his 2019 World Cup performance and become the first Indian to win five Man of the Match awards in a single edition of the mega event.