Former South African batter Hashim Amla has named three batters he is keen to watch in the 2027 edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, which is set to be played across 12 venues in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
In his list, Amla included one player each from India, South Africa and Australia. However, surprisingly, there was no mention of batting great Virat Kohli.
Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs as well as in Men’s ODI World Cup history. However, instead of Kohli, who also won the Golden Bat award at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Amla mentioned Rohit Sharma’s name.
Like Kohli, Rohit also has a fantastic record in ODIs and the ODI World Cup. He is India’s third-highest run-scorer in ODIs and also occupies third place on the list of batters with the most runs in ODI World Cup history.
According to Amla, he loves watching the 39-year-old Indian batter play and says Rohit oozes elegance in all his strokes.
Apart from Rohit, Amla also included South Africa’s Dewald Brevis and Australia’s Travis Head on his list.
“Dewald Brevis for South Africa. Obviously a very exciting young talented player. I like Travis Head from Australia. He’s been around and he’s been doing exceptionally well. Just the way he plays is beautiful to watch. And Rohit Sharma from India. Absolutely love watching him play. He oozes elegance in all his strokes. So yeah, he is one of those guys I want to watch,” Amla said in a video shared by the ICC on Instagram.
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Head was part of Australia’s 2023 ODI World Cup-winning squad and played a match-winning knock in the final. He scored 137 against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on November 19, helping Australia chase down a target of 241 runs in 44 overs for the loss of four wickets.
Head is highly likely to play for the six-time champions in the 2027 ODI World Cup, but there are question marks over Rohit’s place in the Indian team.
It was reported last month that Rohit would not be picked in India’s ODI squad after the third match against England at Lord’s. However, in the series decider at the Home of Cricket on July 19, he scored a century to keep his ODI future interesting.