Rohit Sharma’s Test Average Inflated by Home Performances, Claims Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar Criticizes Rohit Sharma’s Test Legacy, Says ‘No Comparison’ with Virat Kohli.

Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has reignited the Test cricket debate by taking a pointed dig at Rohit Sharma’s red-ball credentials. In a video shared on Instagram, Manjrekar claimed that Rohit’s Test average would have taken a significant hit had he featured in the upcoming series against England, further stating that there’s “no comparison” between Rohit and Virat Kohli in the longest format of the game.

With Rohit recently announcing his retirement from Test cricket — paving the way for Shubman Gill to become the new Test captain — Manjrekar reflected on the contrasting legacies of Rohit and Kohli. He argued that while the duo may be clubbed together in white-ball cricket, Test cricket tells a different story.

“Virat Kohli has 12 hundreds in SENA countries. Rohit Sharma has just one — and that came at The Oval in 2021. I dare say, had he gone to England this time, his average would’ve dropped into the 30s. So when it comes to red-ball cricket, I say, ‘RoKo, stop that,’” Manjrekar said, referring to the popular moniker ‘RoKo’ used to describe the pair.

Manjrekar further criticized the tendency to place the two icons in the same bracket, especially in the context of Test cricket.

“It stirred up the bee in my bonnet, which has been there for a while. It’s not just the comparison — it’s the fact that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli often get lumped together. That may make sense in white-ball cricket, but in Test cricket, there’s absolutely no comparison between the two,” he added.

Rohit Sharma’s Test Career: A Summary
Rohit Sharma ended his Test career with 4,301 runs in 67 matches at an average of 40.57 and a strike rate of 57.05. He scored 12 centuries — notably, all came in matches where India emerged victorious.

In English conditions, Rohit played 14 Test innings, scoring 524 runs at an average of 40.30. His best performance came in the 2021-22 series, where he was India’s top scorer, amassing 368 runs in four matches at an impressive average of 52.57. That series also saw him score his maiden overseas century — a sublime 127 at The Oval, which was instrumental in India’s win in that Test.

The high-profile series eventually ended 2-2, with England winning the rescheduled fifth Test in Edgbaston in 2022.