India’s Captain Receives Special Appreciation From Ex-Pakistan Pacer; Cheteshwar Pujara Lauds This Batter

The former left-arm pacer of the Pakistan side, Wasim Akram, has praised the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, for his superb skill of batting in the Champions Trophy 2025 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The blue brigade’s victory has been inspiring as they will now require only one more victory in the mouth-watering clash against the arch-rivals on February 23.

Wasim Akram praises Rohit Sharma’s batting for India

Akram has reserved the praise for the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, for his 41-run knock in 26 deliveries at a strike rate of over 113. He reckoned that the right-handed opening batter was special when he saw the Nagpur-born playing in 2008.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma Overtakes Sachin Tendulkar To Celebrate This ODI Record; Stays Behind Virat Kohli

Rohit completed 11000 ODI runs during the opening clash against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy, becoming the second fastest to achieve the milestone. The 37-year-old struck seven boundaries in the special 36-run knock before getting out to Taskin Ahmed in trying to loft the bowler over the 30-yard circle.

Speaking on the show ‘The Dressing Room’, the left-arm pacer remembers how well established himself as the breakout star during the tri-series in Australia in 2008.

“There is a lazy elegance about Rohit Sharma. He is special. He has scored three double centuries in ODIs. In 2008, during a tri-series in Australia, I was doing commentary, and all of us in the commentary box predicted that there was something special about this boy. He scored a fine 70 and looked so good to the eyes.” Akram recalled.

Rohit didn’t enjoy a great time in the field as he dropped a simple catch at the first slip and denied the left-arm spinner, Axar Patel, in the contest. The Mumbai batter apologized to the left-arm spinner by folding hands following the incident.

Cheteshwar Pujara lauds Rohit Sharma’s impact vs Bangladesh

The veteran right-handed batter, Cheteshwar Pujara, has lauded Rohit for making the other batters’ jobs easier by racing off the blocks in the first ten overs.

“His batting complements Gill. Rohit’s attacking style helps Gill settle down. With the strike rate he bats at in the first five overs, the score is 40. The other batter can take 10-15 balls to get set. Even if India loses a wicket early and Rohit is still at the crease for the next ten overs, he makes life easy for Virat, also.” Pujara added.

Rohit has earned 11029 runs in 261 innings for India at an average of 49.01 and a strike rate of 92.75, shouldering on 32 centuries and 57 half-centuries at the best score of 264 runs against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India faces a new challenge against Pakistan

The Indian side has done a great job with the ball and in the field during the opening fixture against Bangladesh in Dubai. Mohammad Shami’s five-wicket haul and Harshit Rana’s three wickets in the contest helped the blue brigade in keeping them to 228 runs.

Also Read: Harshit Rana Reveals Jasprit Bumrah’s Advice For Champions Trophy 2025 Preparation

The unbeaten century from Shubman Gill and the 47 undefeated runs from KL Rahul carried them over the line. They will face a new challenge against the new ball pacers of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Haris Rauf’s expressive pace will be another challenge for the side in the middle overs, while it will be tough to take on Abrar Ahmed on the slow and low Dubai surface.

Virat Kohli had a tough time in the last game, but he will be eager to make a strong comeback against Pakistan in the mouth-watering encounter.