Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar advised Rohit Sharma to bat for longer periods of time instead of just concentrating on providing the team with a quick start. Following India’s win over Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal, head coach Gautam Gambhir defended Rohit’s approach and said that the star batter is judged on ‘impact’ and not on his numbers. However, Gavaskar was not impressed with the remark and said that if a batter like Rohit stays at the crease for 25-30 overs, he will take the game away from the opponents and that should also be included in his gameplay.

“This is an approach he has been following for the last two years or so. It started around the World Cup in India, and he has been sticking to that formula. He has had some success, though perhaps not as much as his talent should warrant. He is an incredibly talented player with a range of shots that not many others in the game possess,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“Therefore, from an aesthetic point of view, from a crowd-pleasing perspective, I am not speaking from the team’s point of view. He bats for even 25 overs, India will be around 180-200. Imagine if they have lost only a couple of wickets by then; just think what they could do-they could reach 350 or more.”

Gavaskar went on to say that Rohit should not happy scoring 25-30 runs and his impact for his side should be far greater.

“He also needs to give it some thought. It’s one thing to go out and play aggressively, but there has to be a bit of discretion somewhere to give himself the chance to bat for 25-30 overs. If he does that, he takes the game away from the opposition,” Gavaskar added.

“That kind of impact is match-winning. And I think, as a batter, are you happy with scoring 25-30 runs? You shouldn’t be! So that is what I would say to him: your impact on the team will be even greater if you bat for 25 overs instead of just seven, eight, or nine overs.”