Former India opener and domestic cricket legend Wasim Jaffer is backing Rohit Sharma to score a double century overseas as well, singling out the vice-captain’s ability to pace his innings.
Sharma is the only batsman to have three One-day International double hundreds and is seen as a benchmark in world cricket for consistently scoring big hundreds in the format. Jaffer reserved high praise for his one-time Mumbai teammate.
“I feel he understands his game a lot more now,” Jaffer told former India cricketer Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“This is not the Rohit Sharma that we have seen before. He knows where he needs to calm down. Even in ODI cricket, if you see the World Cup, the ball was moving around in a few matches and he held back. He held back for 8-10 overs against South Africa and Pakistan,” Jaffer added.
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Jaffer, who was recently appointed as the coach of Uttarakhand, observed that the key for Sharma to get big scores away from home would be to see out the early threat.
“Then when he understands that the conditions have become better, he has that ability to accelerate and suddenly his strike rate would go up to 120-130,” Jaffer said.
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Sharma had a dream run in 2019 across formats. In Test cricket too, he looked in great touch at home and was set to play in the two-match series against New Zealand as an opener. However, an injury during the limited-overs leg meant that he missed out.
“I feel he is in that headspace where that he understands where he needs to take a backseat and where he can attack,” Jaffer said.
“And he has both the games. I feel in overseas conditions in the first 30-45 minutes he is a bit vulnerable. I think if he survives that, he has the ability to get double hundreds even there.”
Watch Aakash Chopra’s Chat with Wasim Jaffer here:
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