Ranchi, Nov 29: India’s veteran opener Rohit Sharma is on the cusp of entering ODI history as he returns to action for the three-match series against South Africa beginning November 30 at the JSCA Stadium.
The former captain is just three sixes short of surpassing Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi’s long-standing record for the most sixes in One-Day Internationals.
Sharma currently sits on 349 ODI sixes, trailing Afridi’s tally of 351 — a mark that has remained untouched for years. Behind them on the elite list are some of the game’s most destructive hitters, including Chris Gayle (331), Sanath Jayasuriya (270), MS Dhoni (229), Eoin Morgan (220), AB de Villiers (204), Brendon McCullum (200), Sachin Tendulkar (195), and Sourav Ganguly (190).
The Ranchi ODI also brings another milestone within reach for the 37-year-old, who stands just 98 runs away from becoming the fourth Indian to score 20,000 international runs. With 19,902 runs from 502 matches — including 4,301 in Tests, 11,370 in ODIs and 4,231 in T20Is — Sharma is closing in on a club occupied only by Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid.
Sharma’s return comes on the back of an unbeaten 121 against Australia in Sydney earlier this month, a knock that sealed a consolation win in a 2-1 ODI series loss. (Agencies)
