Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli
The Indian team has moved forward from the successes, trials and tribulations of the Ravi Shastri
as head coach era under the leadership of Virat Kohli to the Rahul Dravid as head coach era after
the 2021 T20 World Series.
Under this new order, the Men in Blue have also appointed a new leader in Rohit Sharma. The Mumbai
captain is going to lead team India in the shorter formats of the game and will look forward to
bringing his vast winning experience of the Indian T20 League for the national team. Here is a
comparison of how Rohit has fared over the years vs Virat in numbers.
Table of Contents:
Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli Stats Comparison
The stats of Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma in tests, ODIs, T20Is and Indian Premier Leagues are as
follows:
Rohit vs Kohli in Test
In the purest form of the game, which is considered the true test of a cricketer’s talent,
let’s see how Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma compare:
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 43 | 96 |
| Innings | 74 | 162 |
| Runs | 3047 | 7765 |
| Avg | 46.87 | 51.08 |
| Hundred | 8 | 27 |
| Fifty | 14 | 27 |
| Best | 212 | 254* |
If we observe closely, the batting statistics are skewed in favour of Virat Kohli. This is because
Rohit has played half the number of matches in the longest format as compared to Kohli, who was and
still is the mainstay of Indian batting in Tests. Rohit has had to compete with the likes of Mayank
Agarwal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan for the test opener slot.
Rohit vs Kohli in ODI
In the 50-over format of the game, Rohit & Kohli are pretty evenly matched. So let’s have
a look at how their individual stats compare:
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 227 | 254 |
| Innings | 220 | 245 |
| Runs | 9205 | 12169 |
| Avg | 48.96 | 59.07 |
| SR | 88.90 | 93.25 |
| Hundred | 29 | 43 |
| Fifty | 43 | 62 |
| Best | 264 | 183 |
Virat Kohli has been the king of the chase over the years and has played a few more matches than
Rohit in the 50-over format. More recently though, Rohit has had a better record in ODIs for India,
including World Tournaments. We must not forget that Rohit is an opener and sometimes he has to set
up an innings and can’t always go guns blazing, hence the slight differences in average and
strike-rate.
Rohit vs Kohli in T20
In the shortest format of the game, both these batsmen are neck and neck. In recent times, Rohit
has had better form in the T20s for both Mumbai and India, so let’s see how they compare:
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 119 | 95 |
| Innings | 111 | 87 |
| Runs | 3197 | 3227 |
| Avg | 33.30 | 52.04 |
| SR | 140.28 | 137.290 |
| Hundred | 4 | – |
| Fifty | 26 | 29 |
| Best | 118 | 94* |
Rohit has played more T20 games for India than Kohli and also has more 100s in this format, whereas
Kohli has none. But, T20 is also a short game and Rohit has an advantage being an opener, he gets
to face more balls in a game.
Rohit vs Kohli in Indian T20 League
The Indian T20 League numbers are good for Virat Kohli as always, he leads the batting charts in
India’s biggest T20 tournament. Let’s see how they compare first:
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 213 | 207 |
| Innings | 208 | 199 |
| Runs | 5611 | 6283 |
| Avg | 31.17 | 37.39 |
| SR | 130.39 | 129.94 |
| Hundred | 1 | 5 |
| Fifty | 40 | 42 |
| Best | 109 | 113 |
Kohli’s numbers again take precedence over Rohit’s, but this is where it gets
interesting and this is where Rohit edges Kohli. The former Bangalore captain has never won the
Indian T20 League title, whereas Rohit as Mumbai captain has won it 5 times.
So, Who is the Better Batsman – Rohit or Kohli?
If we consider the overall records of Virat vs Rohit, Virat Kohli wins this comparison hands down. He is one of the greatest cricketers to play the game and is by far one of the most successful batsmen ever in world cricket. The current Indian team
captain in the shorter formats has toppled Virat Kohli in Test rankings, he is 5th and Virat is
6th. In ODIs, Virat is still 2nd, while Rohit is 3rd and in T20s he is 13th.
Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli – As Captains
The captaincy record will heavily favour Kohli as Rohit hasn’t been captain for long, except
occasional tournaments. Let’s see how they compare in the different formats:
Captaincy in Tests
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | – | 65 |
| Wins | – | 38 |
| Loss | – | 16 |
| Draw | – | 11 |
| Win % | – | 58.46 |
Rohit Sharma is yet to captain India in the longest format of the game. So, there is no comparison
between Rohit vs Virat currently for this format.
Captaincy in ODIs
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 10 | 95 |
| Wins | 8 | 65 |
| Losses | 2 | 27 |
| Tied | 0 | 1 |
| No Results | 0 | 2 |
| Win % | 80 | 70.43 |
Here Rohit’s numbers look better than Virat’s because he has only captained in a small
number of matches. But, his record is good as the win percentage is higher.
Captaincy in T20s
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 22 | 50 |
| Wins | 18 | 30 |
| Losses | 4 | 16 |
| Tied | 0 | 2 |
| No results | 0 | 2 |
| Win % | 81.81 | 64.58 |
Again the numbers favour Rohit because he has captained in lesser matches. But, one thing is
becoming clear, that under him India has a better win record in the shorter formats.
Captaincy in Indian T20 League
| Stat | Rohit Sharma | Virat Kohli |
| Match | 129 | 140 |
| Wins | 75 | 64 |
| Losses | 50 | 69 |
| Tied | 4 | 3 |
| No Results | 0 | 4 |
| Win % | 59.68 | 48.16 |
Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in the Indian T20 League. His win percentage is not only better than that of Virat Kohli but also better than MS Dhoni. He has also won the highest number of Indian T20 League titles, 5 with Mumbai.
More Player Stats
| Rohit Sharma vs MS Dhoni | Virat Kohli vs AB Devilliers |
| MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli | Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli |
| Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar | Babar Azam vs Rohit Sharma |
