Rohit can leave Kohli behind if he works a tad harder: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh has ranked Rohit Sharma above Virat Kohli purely in terms of talent but feels the latter has overtaken everyone on sheer hard work.

Kohli and Rohit’s prolific run in ODIs has been a big reason behind India’s strong show in the format. Fittingly, Kohli holds the top spot in ODI rankings followed by Rohit at No, 2.

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The duo gave yet another example of their batting prowess on Sunday in a 246-run partnership for the second wicket in the first ODI against West Indies. Kohli scored 140, Rohit remained unbeaten on 152 in a successful chase of 323.

Rohit averages 47.17 in ODIs and has scored 7217 runs in 189 matches while Kohli, with 9919 runs in 212 ODIs, averages 58.69.

“If I speak of Rohit, he hit three-four sixes off Morne Morkel in the T20 World Cup in South Africa on a bouncy Durban track. I understood then only that he has a special talent. And, if I just speak of talent, he will be above Kohli but with hard work, Kohli left everyone behind,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by India Today. “But, if Rohit works a tad harder, he can leave Kohli behind with the amount of capability he has. But, it is great to see two of the world’s best batsmen are from India and they are dominating the game.”

While Kohli is head and shoulders above any batsmen of his generation when it comes to ODIs, Harbhajan reckons that Rohit has the capability to match or even overtake his captain. “Rohit Sharma is a player of a different level. When Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play, it is difficult to judge who is better. The No.1 and No.2 ranking is justified for them and for me…both of them are No.1. The pair is No.1 and whenever they bat together, they dominate,” he said.

Harbhajan further added, “Virat’s numbers have grown over the last couple of years and if I say there is anybody near him, I’ll have to say Rohit. If I say Rohit isn’t as good a player as Virat, it’ll be unfair on him. Both are No.1 players.”

Kohli has also drawn praises for his work ethic that has seen him breaking and setting records at breathtaking pace. “Virat’s hunger has grown over the years compared to when he came in. The hunger for runs was there from the U-19 days and there was no deficiency in terms of talent. But, his hard work has taken him where he is now. There was a time during the Test series versus West Indies long back when he was getting out constantly while trying to hook and it seemed like he will never get selected again. But, he showed through hard work that someone can achieve anything through hard work,” he said.