The West Indies batter legend Chris Gayle welcomed Rohit Sharma into the elite list of batters who have hit the most sixes in One-Day International cricket by saying that the sport needs charismatic players who can enthral audiences and keep fans glued to their screens. Gayle, also known as the “Universe Boss” for his explosive batting, expressed his joy at Rohit surpassing him.
Rohit stormed past Gayle’s 331 sixes in ODI history with a dazzling display of seven sixes during the second ODI against England at Cuttack on February 9. With this feat, he climbed to second position in the all-time six-hitting charts in ODIs and now is only 13 sixes behind Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, who tops the record with 351.
“Congratulations to Rohit. Sport always needs a new entertainer, and Rohit has been entertaining fans for years, just like I did. He’s the new king in town now! Hopefully, he keeps going and hits many more sixes,” Chris Gayle said, as quoted by PTI.
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For Rohit, this was just the right moment. He marked his 32nd ODI hundred, first since the 2023 World Cup, and ended a long run of a bad patch in international cricket. The Indian captain had been under immense pressure following a poor run of form in the 2024-25 Test season, where he scored just 31 runs in three Tests before being dropped for the series decider.
His omission from the Test team sparked debates over his place in the side, especially after India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3. However, Rohit silenced critics in emphatic fashion, playing a match-winning knock that anchored India’s successful chase of 305 in Cuttack.
Gayle, too, showed his support to Virat Kohli for coming out of the ODI lean patch, claiming that even the best of cricketers experience bad patches. Like Rohit, Kohli also had a disastrous Test series in Australia. After scoring a century in Perth to start off the tour, Kohli scored just 185 runs in 10 innings against the off-side traps set by the Australian bowlers.
Kohli was unavailable for the first ODI against England at Nagpur and came back into the second. He was clean bowled off just 5 off 8 balls by leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
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“He is still the best player in the world, no matter what people say about form. Just look at his stats and the number of centuries he has across formats,” Chris Gayle asserted. “Every cricketer faces ups and downs, especially towards the later stages of their career. But he just needs to pick himself up and come back stronger.”
With the Champions Trophy set to begin on February 19, both Rohit and Kohli will be keen to finish the England series on a high and carry their form into the all-important ICC tournament.
