'When Rohit Sharma is in form, no one can stop him' - Vinod Kambli
Former Indian batsman Vinod Kambli has opined that it is very difficult to contain Rohit Sharma when the latter is at the top of his game. He attributed this penchant for scoring runs to the Mumbai school of batting.
Vinod Kambli spoke at length about his cricketing career apart from the current Indian stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during an interaction on the India News' show 'Runyudh'.
The former Mumbai middle-order batsman was asked if Rohit Sharma, the way he has been batting, is the next one in the long list of great batsmen produced by Mumbai including Vijay Merchant, Vijay Manjrekar, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
Vinod Kambli responded that although he has seen Mumbai cricket from close quarters, he wants cricketers from around the country to put in the hard yards to enable them to be selected in the Indian cricket team.
"I have seen Mumbai's journey of producing so many run-getters. But I will not talk about Mumbai alone. I will talk about the whole country, all players who play for the Indian team or want to play for them, the way everyone puts in the hard work, that is in your hand, getting selected is not in your hands. You can only come into the team by performing well."
The left-hander, who once forged a great partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, mentioned that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are prime examples of players who make the best use of their available talent.
"Rohit Sharma is also doing the same thing. The way he is batting, he has so many shots. The same is the case with Virat. The talent that they have, you need to do justice to that talent."
Vinod Kambli on Rohit Sharma's impact as a Test opener
Vinod Kambli was further asked how he saw the growth of Rohit Sharma as the former had seen his fellow Mumbaikar from a young age, especially with there being a lot of discussions if the Hitman can have the same impact like Virender Sehwag in Test cricket.
The 48-year-old responded that once a player is in sublime form, the format of the game does not matter, while acknowledging that Rohit Sharma might take a little while to be back to his best after the lockdown-enforced break.
"When a player is in good form then whichever format it is, whether Test cricket, ODI or T20s, he can perform. The way he has started in Test cricket, he might have to regain his form to some extent after the break, but the way he plays is full of confidence."
Vinod Kambli lauded Rohit Sharma's timing, with the sound of the his bat striking the cricket ball giving the former immense joy. He claimed that once Rohit Sharma reaches top gear, no bowling attack can inhibit his strokeplay.
"The sound of Rohit Sharma's bat striking the ball gives great joy. When he is in form, no one can stop him, whether it is Australia or West Indies or whoever."
Vinod Kambli signed off by stating that this hunger for runs is a trait of Mumbai cricket, with the players being taught to garner as many runs as possible.
"Because this is a tradition of Mumbai cricket, if you are in form, then whether you are Lillee or whoever no one can stop you. As they say in Mumbai, loot as much as you can."
Rohit Sharma has amassed 556 runs in the 5 Test matches he has played as an opener in Test cricket, at an outstanding average of 92.66. But all these runs have been scored in the familiar home environment and there has been a lot of speculation if he would be able to emulate these performances in overseas conditions.