Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma — Comparing their batting stats across formats

The retirements of Rohit and Kohli marked the end of an illustrious era for Indian T20 cricket. Here’s a comparison between their batting performances in international cricket, shedding light on their contributions to the game.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been the backbones of Indian batting for well over a decade. | Photo Credit: K. R. Deepak

Virat and Rohit — the pillars of world cricket

 

On June 29, 2024, after leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados, two of the most celebrated players in Indian cricket, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, announced their retirement from the T20 format. Captain Rohit played a pivotal role in the USA and the West Indies, while Virat, the ex-captain, delivered crucial performances for the team — both leaving behind a legacy of remarkable achievements in T20 cricket.

 

The retirements of these two legends mark the end of an illustrious era for Indian T20 cricket. Their consistent match-winning performances and exemplary leadership have been the cornerstone of the Indian team. The void left by their absence will be keenly felt by fans and the cricketing community, underscoring the significant impact they have had on Indian cricket.

 

Virat and Rohit’s journey from the U-19 ranks to becoming pillars of the Indian cricket team is a testament to their hard work and dedication. Rohit was part of the triumphant ICC World T20 under M. S. Dhoni in 2007, while Kohli captained the U-19 team to victory in the 2008 World Cup in Australia. 

 

This comparison between Virat and Rohit delves into their batting performances in international cricket, shedding light on their contributions to the game. Rohit currently holds the T20I record for most runs — 4231, while Kohli comes second with 4188 runs, which further highlights their dominance in T20I cricket.

 

In Test cricket, Kohli has amassed 8,848 runs in 113 matches with 29 centuries, and has also made two centuries on his Test captaincy debut. On the other hand, Rohit has scored 4,137 runs with 12 centuries in 59 Tests.

 

Virat and Rohit are the only active cricketers with over 10,000 ODI runs. With 13,906 runs at an average of 58.18, the former is now the third-highest run-getter behind Tendulkar (18,426) and Sangakkara (14,234) in the 50-over format. However, his 50 centuries place him at the top of the list, just ahead of Tendulkar’s 49 and Rohit’s 31 centuries. Rohit has scored 10,866 runs in 265 games with an average of 49.16 since his debut against Ireland in June 2007. His 264 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata on November 13, 2014, remains the highest individual score in ODI history.

 

Name: Virat Kohli

Born: November 05, 1988, in New Delhi

Batting: Right-hand batter

 

ODI debut: vs Sri Lanka in Dambulla on August 18, 2008

T20I Debut: vs Zimbabwe in Harare on June 12, 2010

Test debut: vs West Indies in Kingston on June 20, 2011

 

Career batting in international cricket across formats

Format	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100s	50s	4s	6s
Tests	113	191	11	8848	254*	49.15	15924	55.56	29	30	991	26
ODIs	295	283	44	13906	183	58.18	14866	93.54	50	72	1302	151
T20Is	125	117	31	4188	122*	48.69	3056	137.04	1	38	369	124
Total	533	591	86	26942	254*	53.35	33846	79.60	80	140	2662	301

Batting against each opponent in international cricket across formats

Opponent	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100s	50s	4s	6s
Australia	97	113	10	5203	186	50.51	6971	74.63	16	27	494	56
Sri Lanka	75	79	14	4076	243	62.70	4665	87.37	15	18	390	41
England	85	107	11	3979	235	41.44	5824	68.32	8	23	423	33
West Indies	73	75	10	3850	200	59.23	4627	83.20	12	23	387	46
South Africa	61	70	11	3306	254*	56.03	4509	73.32	8	16	337	35
New Zealand	52	62	6	2822	211	50.39	3549	79.51	9	14	280	35
Bangladesh	28	31	8	1577	204	68.56	1713	92.06	7	5	153	18
Pakistan	27	27	7	1170	183	58.50	1073	109.04	3	7	112	18
Afghanistan	9	7	2	347	122*	69.40	260	133.46	1	3	32	9
Zimbabwe	11	8	2	305	115	50.83	337	90.50	1	1	30	3
Netherlands	3	3	1	125	62*	62.50	120	104.16	0	2	10	3
Ireland	5	5	1	88	44*	22.00	110	80.00	0	0	8	1
Hong Kong	1	1	1	59	59*	-	44	134.09	0	1	1	3
United Arab Emirates	2	1	1	33	33*	-	41	80.48	0	0	5	0
Scotland	1	1	1	2	2*	-	2	100.00	0	0	0	0
United States of America	1	1	0	0	0	0.00	1	0.00	0	0	0	0
Namibia	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nepal	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	533	591	86	26942	254*	53.35	33846	79.60	80	140	2662	301

 

Home/Away	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100	50	4s	6s
home	218	241	38	11989	254*	59.05	14566	82.30	38	59	1192	148
Away	315	350	48	14953	200	49.51	19280	77.55	42	81	1470	153
Total	533	591	86	26942	254*	53.35	33846	79.60	80	140	2662	301

 

As captain	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	Balls faced	SR	100	50	4s	6s
as captain	213	250	35	12883	254*	59.92	16847	76.47	41	58	1280	138
not as captain	320	341	51	14059	186	48.47	16999	82.70	39	82	1382	163
Total	533	591	86	26942	254*	53.35	33846	79.60	80	140	2662	301

 

 

Name: Rohit Sharma

Born: April 30, 1987, in Bansod (Nagpur), Maharashtra

Batting: Right-hand batter

 

ODI debut: vs Ireland in Belfast on June 23, 2007

T20I Debut: vs England in Durban on September 19, 2007

Test debut: vs West Indies in Kolkata on November 06, 2013

 

Career batting in international cricket across formats

Format	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100s	50s	4s	6s
Tests	59	101	10	4137	212	45.46	7251	57.05	12	17	452	84
ODIs	265	257	36	10866	264	49.16	11755	92.43	31	57	1012	331
T20Is	159	151	19	4231	121*	32.05	3003	140.89	5	32	383	205
Total	483	509	65	19234	264	43.31	22009	87.39	48	106	1847	620

Batting against each opponent in international cricket across formats

Opponent	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100s	50s	4s	6s
Australia	80	87	8	3571	209	45.20	4157	85.90	9	16	303	132
Sri Lanka	81	82	11	2941	264	41.42	3176	92.60	8	14	276	86
West Indies	65	64	12	2884	177	55.46	3159	91.29	7	19	275	88
England	50	61	9	2338	161	44.96	3340	70.00	7	11	275	48
South Africa	55	62	3	1973	212	33.44	2448	80.59	7	4	223	58
New Zealand	52	55	6	1917	147	39.12	2307	83.09	2	15	167	76
Bangladesh	33	33	3	1296	137	43.20	1198	108.18	3	8	111	50
Pakistan	31	30	4	1000	140	38.46	1053	94.96	2	8	88	33
Afghanistan	9	9	3	354	131	59.00	251	141.03	2	1	37	16
Zimbabwe	10	10	2	267	114	33.37	351	76.06	1	1	20	5
Ireland	6	5	2	265	97	88.33	211	125.59	0	4	19	12
Netherlands	2	2	0	114	61	57.00	93	122.58	0	2	12	5
United Arab Emirates	2	2	1	96	57*	96.00	83	115.66	0	1	17	2
Nepal	1	1	1	74	74*	-	59	125.42	0	1	6	5
Namibia	1	1	0	56	56	56.00	37	151.35	0	1	7	2
Hong Kong	3	3	0	55	23	18.33	64	85.93	0	0	6	1
Scotland	1	1	0	30	30	30.00	16	187.50	0	0	5	1
United States of America	1	1	0	3	3	3.00	6	50.00	0	0	0	0
Total	483	509	65	19234	264	43.31	22009	87.39	48	106	1847	620

 

Home/away	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100	50	4s	6s
home	178	192	19	8679	264	50.16	9322	93.10	27	35	885	308
away	305	317	46	10555	171*	38.95	12687	83.20	21	71	962	312
Total	483	509	65	19234	264	43.31	22009	87.39	48	106	1847	620

 

As captain	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave.	Balls faced	S/R	100	50	4s	6s
as captain	126	136	14	5199	208*	42.61	4989	104.20	11	32	516	239
not as captain	357	373	51	14035	264	43.58	17020	82.46	37	74	1331	381
Total	483	509	65	19234	264	43.31	22009	87.39	48	106	1847	620

 

All records are correct and updated until 24 Aug 2024