Former England captain Nasser Hussain was surprised to see former India captain Rohit Sharma become the new World No. 1-ranked ODI batter in the latest ICC rankings that were released on Wednesday, October 29 as well. He said that the swashbuckling Indian opener has smashed three double centuries in the 50-over format, expressing his surprise that he didn’t reach the top of the ICC rankings chart in the last 15 years despite having over 11,000 runs as well.

Calling Rohit one of the great pullers in modern-day cricket, Hussain said while speaking to the ICC, “I can’t believe it, to be honest. I heard he [Rohit Sharma] went to number one and my first question was – when has he been at number one before? And someone said it’s the first time. I mean, he’s been around forever; he’s got three double hundreds in ODI cricket. There must have been some good white players, one-day players in the last 15 years. Fabulous white-ball cricketer, fabulous player, and well done to him. He deserves to be number 1 in the world. He’s got all the range of shots. He goes big like I said, three double hundreds. He’s not just interested in getting 20s and 30s. Although, recently obviously he’s upped his strike rate, especially in the powerplay,” he added.

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Nasser Hussain also praised Rohit Sharma for his hunger to score runs at 38 while also crediting him for his fiery game during his reign as India captain as well.

“He tried to set the tone and change the culture of the team when he was captain, and he did that and did that seriously well. He just got all the shots, you can pitch it up and you get driven down the ground. The bowlers just drag their length back a little bit and he’s one of the great pullers in the modern game, and he’s a fabulous player of spin as well. And hunger for the game. What’s he? 38 now and still as hungry as ever. Got runs the other day and he’s a joy to watch,” Nasser Hussain concluded.