If Rohit Sharma wins in SA, his name will be kept top-most in India’s cricket history: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan & Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Gareth Copley, Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

India’s tour of South Africa began on Sunday, December 10 as the first T20I between the two teams got washed out in Durban. However, the most important leg of the tour for both sides will be the two-match Test series beginning from December 26 which will be a part of the World Test Championship cycle (2023-25).

Notably, India have never won a Test series in South Africa in eight attempts and hence will be desperate to conquer their final frontier in the upcoming series. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that if Rohit is able to inspire his team to a series win in South Africa his name will be kept on top most in Indian cricket history.

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“If Rohit Sharma is able to conquer South Africa, his name will be kept top-most in India’s cricket history as captain and player because he only has the key to wins in both these matches. He is both an opener and a captain. If you play out the new ball, your other batters will get the chance to shine. That’s why you should remove the shine from the new ball,” Pathan was quoted as saying by Star Sports.

Further praising the India captain, Pathan said that he batted amazingly in the Test series vs England in 2021 and will go to South Africa with the same passion.

“He went fully prepared and batted amazingly in the Test series when he went to England. I feel you will see Rohit Sharma preparing with the same passion before he goes. Rohit’s challenge will be to play out the new ball, score his runs and take his team forward. He is going to wear a lot of hats and only the most experienced player in your team is capable of wearing so many hats. We have two big brothers in this team – Rohit and Virat Kohli. There will be a lot of dependency on both of them,” he added.

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Rohit Sharma is India’s leading run scorer in Tests since 2019

Notably, ever since he began opening the innings in Tests, he has scored 2092 runs from 41 innings at an average of 53.64 with seven hundreds and six fifties to his name. The Indian captain is also the leading run-scorer for India in Tests since 2019. The 36-year-old will have the onus of carrying the inexperienced Indian batting lineup along with Virat Kohli.