NEW DELHI: Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar remarked recently that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and batting sensation Virat Kohli continue to carry the burning passion to electrify the field with their exceptional fielding prowess.
Gavaskar also lauded Virat's stellar show in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 where India entered the final and lost the title clash to Australia.
"Kohli's form has been outstanding in the last 1.5 years. He played unbelievably in the 2023 World Cup, making 750 runs with 3 centuries. So there is no doubt about his limited-overs batting. But what makes me feel good is their fielding capacity," Gavaskar said.
1/10:Indian cricket in 2023: Statistical highlights
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2/10:Test cricket
<p>Indian men's cricket team played 8 Tests, 35 ODIs and 23 T20Is in 2023. India won 3 Tests, lost 3 and 2 ended in draws.</p>Getty Images
3/10:White-ball formats
<p>Out of 35 ODIs, India won 27, lost 7 and 1 ended in No Result. Out of 23 T20Is, India won 15, lost 7 and 1 ended in No Result.</p>Getty Images
4/10:Mohammed Shami
<p>With his career-best bowling performance of 7/57 in the first semifinal vs New Zealand on November 15, Mohammed Shami became the first Indian to bag a seven-wicket haul in ODIs/World Cup.</p>Getty Images
5/10:World Cup record
<p>Mohammed Shami remains the only bowler to bag a seven-for in World Cup knockouts.</p>Getty Images
6/10:Virat Kohli
<p>Virat Kohli became the first batsman to hit 50 ODI hundreds, breaking the record of Sachin Tendulkar (49).</p>Getty Images
7/10:Most tons
<p>Virat Kohli hit 8 hundreds in 2023 — six in 27 ODIs and two in eight Tests - the most by an Indian batter in international cricket.</p>Getty Images
8/10:World Cup record
<p>Virat Kohli's 765 runs at an average of 95.62, including three hundreds and six fifties, in 11 innings in the 2023 World Cup is a record.</p>Getty Images
9/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma's 67 sixes in 26 innings this year is a world record for most sixes by any batter in a calendar year in ODIs, surpassing the 58 in 18 innings by AB de Villiers in 2015.</p>Getty Images
10/10:HITMAN
<p>Rohit Sharma's 31 sixes in eleven innings in the 2023 World Cup is a record for most sixes by any batter in a single edition of the World Cup. </p>Getty Images"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still great fielders and will be of great help on the field," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
With India losing a big chance to win an ICC title at home, the Men in Blue will aim to clinch the T20 World Cup title which is just a few months to go.
The upcoming ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place from June 4 to 30 this year, hosted jointly by the West Indies and the United States.
India last won the T20 World Cup way back in 2007 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy.
Gavaskar believes that India's victory in the T20 World Cup, led by Dhoni, played a significant role in fostering the growth of the shortest format of the game within the country.
"I was present at the 2007 T20 World Cup, and it was one of the most exciting times. I've seen MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan playing on the field and winning for India. Clearly, from there, the craze for T20 boomed in India. Before that, nobody was very well-versed with this format. That win of India helped IPL as well to take off in India,” Gavaskar said.
