The former Indian opening batter, Virender Sehwag, was asked to rate some of the international players and pick between two players, as he was present on the sidelines during the final of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20. With all of the players having sheer quality, it was hard to choose between them.
In the first selection, Virender Sehwag was given to choose between the former World Cup-winning captain of the Blue Brigade, MS Dhoni, and the current Test captain of England, Ben Stokes, who has been hailed to be one of the best all-rounders of the modern era.
The Delhi-born was quick to select Dhoni over the New Zealand-born. After which, Stokes was replaced by the former South African captain Ab de Villiers, and Sehwag ditched the Indian batter and went on to pick the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player.
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In a comparison between Dhoni and de Villiers, especially in the 50-over format, in terms of runs, the former is well ahead of the Protea captain, having 10773 runs in 297 innings at an average of over 50 and a strike rate of 87.56, celebrating ten centuries and 73 half-centuries, while De Villers has 9577 runs in ODIs at an average of 53.50 and a strike rate of over 100.
Rohit Sharma stands at the top in Virender Sehwag’s cricket book
The Ranchi-born was replaced by the current superstar of world cricket and another former captain of the Indian side, Virat Kohli, to which Virender Sehwag decided to pick the latter, who is currently the four highest run-getter across formats with 26942 runs in 591 innings at an average of 53.35 and a strike rate of nearly 80, shouldering on 80 centuries and 140 half-centuries.
De Villiers was removed from the list, while the current Test and ODI captain of Australia, Pat Cummins, who grabbed the 50-over ICC trophy last year in India, was added to fight with Kohli, where the latter again won the battle.
Virender Sehwag was pushed into a rock and hard place by asked to compare between Kohli and the current Indian captain, Rohit Sharma. The opening batter is the 15th highest run-scorer across formats with 19234 runs in 509 innings at an average of 43.31 and a strike rate of 87.39, celebrating 48 centuries and 106 half-centuries.
The 2011 World Cup-winning member ditched his former teammate from that tournament and went on to pick Rohit. Later, the Nagpur-born found himself in a comparison between David Warner and Dale Steyn, in both of which the opening batter came at the top.
In the cricketing book of Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma is the best among all the greatest players across formats. As a leader, the 37-year-old has just led India to their second title in the T20 World Cup in 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, where he also ended as the second-highest run-getter of the event with 257 runs in eight innings at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.70 with the help of three half-centuries at a best score of 92 runs.
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Both Rohit and Kohli will be seen in action during the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which starts on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The second game will be played at the Green Park ground in Kanpur.
The acid test for both these veteran players will be towards the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia at the end of the year.