Rohit Sharma better than Sachin Tendulkar as ODI opener: Ex-NZ pacer Simon Doull

Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma is one of the most destructive batsmen of modern times. The right-handed batsman, who broke into the Indian team a decade ago, was cited as one of the brightest talents in cricket. Rohit Sharma has gone onto become a veteran in limited-formats of the game and is slowly establishing himself in the Test circuit. Rohit Sharma is the only batsman in the world to score three double centuries in ODIs. He also has 29 hundreds to his name in the 50-overs format.

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Simon Doull terms Rohit Sharma as better ODI opener than Sachin Tendulkar

When Rohit Sharma burst into the international circuit, he was often compared to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for his batting style. Also, the fact that he hailed from Mumbai added to the comparisons between the two. Over the years, people have pitted both batsmen against each other, which has led to endless debates.

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Now, former New Zealand cricketer turned commentator Simon Doull has made a massive claim. In a recent chat on ICC's Inside Out show, Simon Doull has termed Rohit Sharma as a better ODI opener than the great Sachin Tendulkar. Simon Doull had made the claim in the past as well and remained firm in his stance.

Simon Doull said he drew a lot of flak in India because he said Rohit Sharma is a better ODI opener than Sachin Tendulkar. Simon Doull said Rohit Sharma would be the No.1 opener picked in an all-time Indian side 'hands down'. He justified his selection with the stats, look at the numbers. He added that Rohit Sharma averages 49 at a strike rate of 88 while Sachin Tendulkar averages 44 with a strike-rate of 86.

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Simon Doull further said that numbers-wise, Rohit Sharma's numbers are phenomenal. They are better than Sachin Tendulkar's which is why to him he’s the first name on the list. He also said that he picked Rohit Sharma only because he had to pick one between the two. He added that there’s Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni on the list as one gets further down the order. 

Rohit Sharma has scored 9115 runs in the ODIs at a stunning average of 49.27. In the shortest format, he averages 32.62 while in Tests he averages 46.54 where he is trying to cement his spot.

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IMAGE COURTESY: ROHIT SHARMA INSTAGRAM