'If Rohit Sharma is able to conquer South Africa...', Irfan Pathan makes big statement on India skipper

Former India pacer Irfan Pathan has stated that Rohit Sharma’s name will be reserved in the “top-most” section of Indian cricket history if he is able to conquer the ‘Final Frontier’ as skipper in the ongoing tour of South Africa. India are currently playing the T20I leg of the tour of South Africa, in which they suffered a five-wicket defeat in a rain-affected encounter on Tuesday and will face the Proteas in three ODIs before the two-Test series gets underway from 26 December, in which skipper Rohit as well as fellow senior players Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah return to action. Pathan also felt that Rohit would have to play a key role with the bat at the top of the order, especially in dealing with the new ball, besides leading the team if India were to finally defeat South Africa in a Test series away from home. “If Rohit Sharma is able to conquer South Africa, his name will be kept top-most in India’s cricket history as captain and player because he only has the key to wins in both these matches. He is both an opener and a captain. If you play out the new ball, your other batters will get the chance to shine. That’s why you should remove the shine from the new ball,” Pathan said on Star Sports. Pathan, who represented India in 173 international matches including 29 Tests, added that Rohit will be donning a number of hats during the Test series, as is expected of a player as senior as he is. “He went fully prepared and batted amazingly in the Test series when he went to England. I feel you will see Rohit Sharma preparing with the same passion before he goes. Rohit’s challenge will be to play out the new ball, score his runs and take his team forward. He is going to wear a lot of hats and only the most experienced player in your team is capable of wearing so many hats. We have two big brothers in this team - Rohit and Virat Kohli. There will be a lot of dependency on both of them,” Pathan added. The Test series begins at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Boxing Day, 26 December. The second Test then takes place at the Newlands in Cape Town starting 3 January. Besides Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will return to action for the first time since the ICC World Cup, in which the Men in Blue finished runners-up. The Indians won 10 matches in a row, only to suffer a six-wicket defeat against Australia in the final in Ahmedabad.