IPL 2020: ‘It’s possible,’ says Rohit Sharma childhood coach on his prospect of scoring a double-hundred

rohit ipl

Mumbai Indians (MI) Captain Rohit Sharma hitting a double century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will not come as a surprise to his childhood coach Dinesh Lad.
The Hitman, as he is fondly called by his fans, has scored three double centuries in ODIs and remains the only batsman in the world to do so. His highest score of 264 runs is a world record and no other batsman has been able to breach the mark yet. But T-20 remains an uncharted territory for the swashbuckling batsman.
In a video on Instagram recently, Sharma had confessed that he missed out on a double century against Sri Lanka in 2017. The batsman got dismissed on 118 with more than 8 overs remaining in the game.
“It’s quite possible. Look at the way he batted against Sri Lanka where he scored his highest T20 score. He scored that many runs in about 12 overs, so it’s a possibility. But it’s difficult to predict something like this in T20 because you have to hit the ball all the time.
“You don’t play to stay at the wicket. It’s difficult. I won’t say 200, but a century is definitely on the cards. God knows. He can even score a double century,” Lad told FirstSportz in a telephonic conversation.
Rohit will do well if given a chance to captain Indian team: Lad

Sharma has also been praised for his leadership attributes. Critics feels that he is more capable than current skipper Virat Kohli to captain the national side after his side won the IPL title 4th time last year. Kohli’s captaincy has also come under scanner as RCB’s cabinet remains empty without any IPL title.
Although, Lad rates Kohli highly but believes Rohit can also do well if given a chance to marshal the troops.
“Rohit has captained brilliantly and has won India so many games whenever he got the chance. But I won’t say he is better than Virat Kohli. Virat himself is an aggressive captain. I won’t really wish to drop Virat and replace it with Rohit but given a chance, I am sure he will do well,” he said.
On Mumbai Indians‘ chances this year, he said, “We can’t really predict which team will win in T-20 cricket. But Mumbai Indians have performed exceptionally and won four IPL titles so far. Their combation is really good with a nice middle-order. The only drawback is in their bowling department at the moment especially after the ouster of Lasith Malinga.”
Lad also heaped praise on Rohit for taking his team ashore on multiple occasions, “His performance has been incredible so far and it has helped its team win as well. His team has won many times and a lot of credit goes to his batting and captaincy. He will perform well, I have no doubt about it.
“He reached on a different level after the World Cup where he scored five centuries. He takes his time to settle down and save wickets initially but after that he is capable of destroying opposition at will. He becomes a very dangerous batsman. It’s difficult to pick his wicket when he his set and no bowler can take it unless he himself throws it away,” he said.
Ayushmaan Pandey
(17 Articles Published)