NEW DELHI: After surpassing Chris Gayle's record of most sixes in international cricket on Wednesday, India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged drawing inspiration from the 'Universe Boss' himself throughout his journey.
Rohit played a record-breaking 81-ball 131 against Afghanistan on Wednesday and hammered five sixes to reach 556 maximums across three formats, three more than the West Indian left-hander.
Rohit achieved this milestone in 453 matches, precisely 30 games fewer than Gayle.
"Universe Boss is Universe Boss. I have taken a leaf out of his book. Over the years, we have seen him, such a six-hitting machine he is wherever he plays.
"We wear the same jersey (No. 45). I am sure he is happy about it because jersey No. 45 has done it (breaking his record)," said Rohit in a video posted by the BCCI.
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Rohit said a lot of work has gone into developing his six-hitting skills over the years.
"When I started playing this game, I never thought I would be able to hit sixes, leave alone that many sixes. Obviously, a lot of work has been put into it over the years. So, I am quite happy with the work that I have done.
"I am the sort of person who is not satisfied (with what he has been doing), and I want to continue what I am doing. My focus is on that. Yeah, it is a small happy moment for me," said the right-handed opener.
The 36-year-old patted his bowlers for restricting Afghanistan to a below-par total on a surface which suited batsmen.
"For us, the focus is on those small things which is to look into the opposition that we play. Today was Afghanistan, and to play well here... we understood the conditions and played well.
"I thought we played a brilliant game. The bowlers did an exceptional job to restrict Afghanistan to below 280 because the wicket was really good to bat on," said Rohit.
The skipper urged the team to focus on the job at hand rather than thinking about the knockout stages.
"It is a very different format that we play now, the World Cup -- 9 league games and then the semifinals and final. For us what was important was to look at every game that came our way and not to look too far ahead," he added.
