‘Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli still batting incredibly well’: Shane Watson reckons India seniors can continue keeping youngsters out | Cricket News
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has backed India superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to continue leading the batting line-ups in the longer formats after their recent Champions Trophy displays.
Kohli finished with 218 runs as India’s second-highest run-getter in the tournament with a century against Pakan and a match-winning 84 against Australia in the semi-final. Meanwhile, skipper Rohit aggregated 205 runs after setting up a 252-run chase against New Zealand with a stroke-filled 76.
Watson backed the senior duo to continue playing for India as long as they maintain the form and fitness at the top.
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“Those guys are still batting incredibly well. So, Virat, how well he batted during the tournament, the runs he got, he still is the best chaser that’s ever played the game of ODI cricket. And we saw how well he’s batting. And Rohit, in the final, that was an amazing innings against the New Zealand bowling attack,” Watson told in an interaction with Hindustan Times.
“… if those guys are still batting as well as they are, and they still feel the energy and the fire still burning so brightly to play for India, then absolutely, that will keep out the younger guys coming through because they’re that good,” he added.
Watson lavished praise on the senior duo’s big-match presence and said they could still give the youngsters a run for their money.
“They know how to perform under pressure, like we saw in the Champions Trophy. A knockout, really, nearly a knockout tournament, and they played incredibly well, especially when the team needed it the most. If those guys want to keep playing, then it’s just the younger guys who are coming through, then they need to really bash down the door. And the only way to do that is scoring a crazy amount of runs and doing extraordinary things if they want to even try and push their way into that Indian team,” Watson remarked.
