New Delhi: Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that Rohit Sharma’s name will be inked in Indian cricketing history if he manages to conquer South Africa.
Rohit, who has taken rest from the white-ball series against South Africa, will be back in action captaining the Indian side in the two-Test series starting on December 26.
India have never won an Test series in South Africa and Pathan believes Rohit can be the “history maker”.
“If Rohit Sharma is able to conquer South Africa, his name will be kept topmost in India's cricket history as captain and player because only he has the key to win both these matches. He is both an opener and a captain. If you play out the new ball, your other batters will get the chance to shine. That's why you should remove the shine from the new ball,” Pathan told Star Sports.
He went on to say that there will be a lot of dependency on Rohit and Virat Kohli during the Test series. However, Pathan also advised Rohit to play well against new ball, score runs and carry the team forward
Rohit has scored 678 runs at an average of 42.37 in nine Tests against the Proteas.
“He went fully prepared and batted amazingly in the Test series when he went to England. I feel you will see Rohit Sharma preparing with the same passion before he goes. Rohit's challenge will be to play out the new ball, score his runs and take his team forward. We have two big brothers in this team, Rohit and Virat Kohli. There will be a lot of dependency on both of them,” he added.
