Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are widely considered two of the most lethal batters in modern-day cricket and have dominated world cricket for more than a decade now.
While both the Indian stalwarts have retired from the T20 and the Test format in international cricket, they continue to play in the One-Day International format for India.
English fast bowler Mark Wood, who represents his national team across all formats and has also the experience of playing in the Indian Premier League, has picked the toughest batter he has ever bowled.
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Wood had to choose from a list of quality batters, which included Australia legend Steve Smith, alongside Sharma and Kohli, but the English pacer settled for one of the two Indian greats.
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Rohit or Virat? Wood picks the toughest batter he has bowled to
Wood, who has represented Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, picked India ODI captain Rohit Sharma as the toughest batter he has ever bowled, while also explaining why he decided to go with the Mumbai Indians star.
Speaking on The Overlap Cricket YouTube channel, Wood said: "In different stages of my career, I would say Rohit Sharma. Difficult because against the short ball, you feel like you, for myself, I’ve got a chance of getting him out, but also if he’s on that day, he smokes it. So, he was difficult. I always felt like his bat was big, just kept getting wider!
"Kohli, obviously. Unbelievable competitor, someone that I felt you have this weakness of fourth, fifth stump drag him in. But he never seemed to miss one when I bowl him there. So, that was difficult. Smith, because he’s so unorthodox, you think you can get him LBW, but he doesn’t miss it… And Marsh."
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How difficult is it to bowl to Rishabh Pant?
Wood also opened up on facing star Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant, as he said: "I think you’ve got to hold your nerve. That’s basically what I would say. I think you have to be sort of unpredictable but that plays into his hands, that he can just stand there and wait for anything difficult.
"But if you’re the same all the time, then he can, he’s got such a good eye, he sort of hits it where he wants. So, I think you’ve got to have a mixture of hold your nerve to maybe the old ball that’s a bit unpredictable, whether it’s a slower ball or you might change up with a really high bouncer or a fast yorker like something slightly different."
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What next for the Indian cricket team?
The Indian cricket team are currently preparing to compete at the Asia Cup 2025, which will be played in T20 format. Their first match of the tournament is on September 10 against hosts UAE.