File image of Rohit Sharma
It was ab unforgettable year for Rohit Sharma in international cricket that also included his record-breaking performance in World Cup 2019. Rohit had scored as many as five consecutive centuries during the quadrennial tournament in England last summer to surpass Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara and become the record holder for the most number of triple-figure scores in a single edition while equalling Sachin Tendulkar's tally of most World Cup centuries (6). Moreover, he made an impressive comeback to Test cricket and even scored a double century as an opener at home. He eventually ended the year as the leading run-getter in ODIs, denying Kohli his usual spot at the year-end table.
Despite an astounding year for India's limited-overs captain, Rohit was not part of Wisden's list of top cricketers which was announced earlier this month. While Ben Stokes was named as the leading cricketer of 2019 for his performances in Ashes and World Cup, Jofra Archer, Pat Cummins, Ellyse Perry, Simon Harmer, and Marnus Labschagne were named the Wisden Five Cricketers of the Year by the 2020 edition of the Wisden Almanack.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar criticised the publication for not including Rohit's name and for giving importance to performances onky on English soil.
“One may argue that Steve Smith was chosen as Cricketer of the Year in an earlier year. This once again confirms that the second best or lower performances get the nod. Remember also that a player could get thousands of runs and hundreds of wickets but if that has not happened in England then he still won’t be in the list of five since only performances in England are taken into account. Since that has been the case for so long, why should anyone give the list and the publication any importance since it rates only what happens in England,” Gavaskar wrote in his column Straight Drive in the daily Mid-Day.
Gavaskar also wrote that the exclusion will not disrupt Rohit's spirit and that he will continue with his dominance in ODIs.
“Firstly, let’s get one thing clear: Rohit is not going to lose sleep over his exclusion. All that he and the others in the Indian team are concerned about is winning games for the country and getting those delightful thumps on the back and hair ruffled by teammates in appreciation of their effort. That’s the sweetest and only compliment that any cricketer wants.
“So, make no mistake it won’t matter to Rohit. He knows he gave his everything to the Indian team in their pursuit of the World Cup,” Gavskar wrote
