Rohit Sharma, India's Inzamam-ul-Haq

The Indian cricket team is on a roll. They are the best Test side in the world, winning three home series ina row, being undefeated in a Test series for a while now. They are the defending champions of theChampions Trophy. A very effective T20 side as well, and going by the local talent that we have seen at thisyear's IPL, it won't be long before they become world T20 champions again. For once in our cricketinghistory, we can surely say that we have a team that can win in any format, anywhere in the world. Suchis that talent in the present squad. But what if I tell you that the most talented player in India, is not acertainty in this squad?

If you were to ask any Indian cricket fan, who is the best player in the Indian team, you won’t besurprised to hear Virat Kohli’s name. To be fair, Kohli has done exceptionally well to warrant thispraise, both as a batsman and as a captain. Some fans may say Ravichandran Ashwin is the best bowler in theworld and that would be very hard to disagree. But why isn't Rohit Sharma’s name spoken in the samevein?

The enigma that is Rohit Sharma, is pretty hard to comprehend. His sublime talent can leave youspellbound. Effortless elegance, the man can play those classy shots with nonchalant ease. He can takeon any bowling in the world and make them look dismal. He can pick the length very early and play verylate. He is so good that he can employ the front-foot pull shot to the fastest of bowlers, whacking themover the mid-wicket boundary, or he could just loft the length deliveries, straight over the sight screen.He became the first player in the world to score two double hundreds in ODIs. He is the third Indiancricketer to score back-to- back centuries in his first two Tests. With his T20 century against South Africa,he became the first Indian player to score centuries in all three formats. Not only is he pleasing towatch, he has the ability to go on and on, carrying his bat right through. Yet, Kohli has a betterrecord in all three formats. Few would even remember that it was Rohit (June 2007) who madehis international debut at least a year before Virat Kohli (August 2008) made his.

A quick comparison of their stats:

Rohit Sharma

Format	Tests	ODI	T20I
Matches	21	153	62
Runs	1184	5131	1364
Average	37.00	41.37	31.72
100s/50s	2/7	10/29	10/29
Top Score	177	264	106

Virat Kohli

Format	Tests	ODI	T20I
Matches	54	179	48
Runs	4451	7755	1709
Average	51.75	53.10	53.40
100s/50s	16/14	27/39	0/16
Top Score	235	183	90*

The enigma of Rohit Sharma is not an anomaly. A look back at the previous generation of internationalcricketers reveals that Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq is much the same. Inzamam announced his arrival onto the world stage with his swashbuckling knock to put Pakistan in the final of the 1992 World Cup andthen followed it up with a crucial knock in the summit clash to win them the trophy. He was instantlycompared to two other young guns of that era -- Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. Though Inzamam wenton to have a great career, he isn't spoken in the same breath as the other two.

The playing style of Rohit too is reminiscent of Inzamam, and every attribute mentioned of Rohit from theearlier paragraph, would apply to Inzy as well. Inzy was also blessed with the rare talent of picking thelength early and playing late. Besides, he also played in the best-ever Pakistani cricket team. ThePakistan squad of the 90's was loaded with talent. The batting line-up included the likes of Saeed Anwar,Aamir Sohail, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed, but it was Inzamam who was the most giftedof the lot. He was gifted enough to last midway through the next generation, seeing the emergence ofYusuf Youhana, Younis Khan and others. Yet, he wasn't Pakistan's top run-getter in Tests, Younis andMiandad are ahead of him. His ODI stats are better, but they didn’t translate into consistent victories. Thisis where, both Lara and Tendulkar, are one up over Inzy.

Make no mistake, Rohit and Inzy are great players and have had good careers. However, they have thetalent to be those exceptional players and proven match winners' day in and day out. Being gifted withtalent is one thing, making effective use of that talent is a rare skill altogether. Rohit is still in his primeand has a lot of years ahead of him. Injuries and form factored in, if he makes full use of his talent, thereis no stopping him.

Kapil Dev has thrown down the gauntlet by favouring England to win the Champions Trophy this year.With the squad that England has, plus home conditions and recent form, he's fully justified. But for Indiato defend the title, not only do we need the likes of Kohli and Ashwin firing in all cylinders, but also thesupport cast, led by Rohit himself.

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