Sunil Gavaskar Sets Special Century Target for Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma narrowly missed out on a century in the third ODI against the West Indies after being dismissed for 92. The near-miss left Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar disappointed, as he believes opportunities to score hundreds should never be wasted. Gavaskar has set a special target for Rohit, saying he would like the Indian opener to have more international centuries than his age by the time he decides to retire. Rohit currently has 35 ODI centuries and is expected to be around 40 years old by the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup. Gavaskar felt that another hundred against the West Indies would have taken Rohit closer to that unique milestone.

Gavaskar also reflected on his own career, revealing that he wanted to score more Test centuries towards the end of his playing days. He was dismissed in the 90s three times and felt that converting those innings into hundreds could have helped him finish with a century tally equal to his retirement age of 38. He said he wants Rohit to achieve what he could not. Gavaskar also praised the change in Rohit’s batting approach, noting that unlike the 2023 World Cup, when Rohit often attacked from the first ball, he now understands the value of his wicket and is converting starts into substantial scores. Gavaskar added that scoring a century in 70-80 balls would be extremely valuable for the team and said social media criticism should not affect Rohit.