Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continue to excel as they age. Both the veteran batters have been in scintillating form in the ODI format, which is the only version they play in for India. In the ongoing series against West Indies, Kohli slammed a timely century in Thiruvananthapuram to take India home, while Rohit Sharma scored a blistering ton in Guwahati during a record chase.

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer opined that although there might be some professional rivalry, mutual respect still exists between both players.

“They have played a lot of cricket together. There is a bit of professional rivalry, but eventually you respect each other. When I was playing, there were Sachin, Rahul, Sourav, Laxman, and Sehwag. They were all greats, but that mutual respect was evident. Virat and Rohit are modern greats, and they have a lot of respect for each other. The new generation should learn this from them,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.

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Jaffer also recalled the decision to make Rohit open in the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, which changed his career. Jaffer said that was when Rohit Sharma became Rohit Sharma.

“Rohit Sharma became Rohit Sharma when he started to open. We saw a different side of Rohit Sharma when he got a chance to open at the 2013 Champions Trophy. He had the talent and potential, but he has never looked back after 2013. Batting in the top-order is the best place in ODIs, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.”

The 35th century was not Rohit’s only landmark in Guwahati. Earlier in the innings, he became only the third Indian after Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli to reach 12,000 ODI runs. Rohit said batting for a long time was ultimately about concentration and using his experience to avoid throwing his wicket away after his 101-run innings.