Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar believes Rohit Sharma’s intensity and keenness were similar to those of another Indian batter, Virat Kohli, contrary to popular belief. Kohli is known for his aggression and high intensity on the field, whereas Rohit Sharma seems more laid-back. Both the batters are two of India’s most accomplished batters with almost 49,000 combined runs and 136 centuries as well.

Talking about his time working with Rohit and Kohli on Subramaniam Badrinath’s YouTube channel, R Sridhar said: “Rohit was similar to Virat. Many people would assume, looking at Rohit, that he doesn’t have the intensity or is too laid-back. That’s completely wrong. He had the same intensity and keenness as Virat but just did things differently. It was important to know the person more than the player as each one was different.”

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“He was a player who needed to be pushed and had to always be challenged. You had to match his intensity as a coach in a fielding drill or throwdown. He always wanted to be challenged and used to hate comfort-zone practice. Everything had to be outside the comfort zone for him,” he further added.

R Sridhar also called former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin extremely curious, and he was keen to know everything about the sport. However, R Ashwin is India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 765 scalps, including 37 five-wicket hauls.

“Someone like Ashwin was extremely curious and would ask questions on everything. Once he had the answers to it all, he would be happy,” concluded R Sridhar.