Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma – Stats Comparison Of T20I, ODI, Test, and IPL
People often compare these two batting giants.
India have always been a nation that has produced talented cricketers. History also tells us that the brightest prospects went on to become greats, courtesy of proper backing by the team management. Earlier, the cricket fraternity witnessed many batting greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and VVS Laxman.
However, Sachin Tendulkar was cut above the rest of the names because of his telling impact in Test and ODI cricket. After that old era came to a close, the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma started becoming the pillars of Indian cricket as far as the batting attack is concerned. Both the cricketers have contributed so much to the team across three formats.
Rohit Sharma has been a part of the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 title-winning team whereas Virat Kohli was part of the ICC ODI World Cup 2011 title-winning team. On the other hand, the duo were part of the ICC Champions Trophy glory in 2013. Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world across formats whereas Rohit Sharma is the best opening batter across formats.
Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma in Test Cricket
India’s run-machine Virat Kohli has had a great deal of exposure in Test cricket wherein he played as many as 109 Tests for India. On the contrary, Rohit Sharma struggled to pick up the pace in this particular format in the initial stages of his career. However, his Test career took a turn when he was asked to open the innings in 2019.
Since then, Rohit Sharma established himself as the permanent opener in this format. Virat Kohli has thrived well in home and overseas conditions and has lived up to his reputation, more often than not. He hit 28 centuries and 28 fifties in Tests whereas Rohit Sharma hit 9 centuries and 14 fifties.
Virat Kohli has hit a total of seven double centuries in Tests whereas Rohit Sharma hit one double century. In the finals of the first edition of the ICC World Test Championship, India lost to New Zealand by 8 wickets under Virat Kohli’s captaincy. In the second cycle, India made it to the finals of the competition once again but lost to Australia by a massive margin of 209 runs under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
| Stats | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
| Matches | 109 | 50 |
| Runs | 8479 | 3437 |
| Centuries (100s) | 28 | 9 |
| Fifties (50s) | 28 | 14 |
| Average | 48.7 | 45.2 |
| Highest Score | 254* against South Africa (2019) | 212 vs South Africa (2019) |
Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma in ODI Cricket
The Indian stalwarts have delivered the goods incredibly well in the 50-over format. Rohit Sharma’s career took a big turn after he was promoted to open the innings in 2013. Since then, he became the most successful opener for India. He smashed as many as 30 centuries in ODIs. Notably, he is the only batsman in the history of ODIs with three double centuries.
Rohit Sharma has hit a total of 48 fifties in ODIs. On the other hand, Virat Kohli’s consistency is what sets him apart from most other batters of this generation. He has hit as many as 46 centuries and is only four centuries away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s overall tally of 49 centuries in ODIs. Virat Kohli has smashed a total of 65 fifties.
| Stats | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
| Matches | 274 | 243 |
| Runs | 12898 | 9825 |
| Centuries (100s) | 46 | 30 |
| Fifties (50s) | 65 | 48 |
| Average | 57.32 | 48.64 |
| Strike Rate | 93.63 | 90.02 |
| Highest Score | 183 vs Pakistan (2012) | 264 vs Sri Lanka (2014) |
Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma in T20Is
It has really been an absolute visual treat to watch both batsmen go about their business in the truncated version of the game. Both of them share a great deal of camaraderie both on and off the field. Besides that, both of them complement each other very well. Virat Kohli has time and again told that he has never seen anyone time the ball better than Rohit Sharma.
He also said that he enjoyed watching him, especially from the other end. Virat Kohli has hit one century in T20Is which came against Afghanistan in the UAE. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma hit four centuries in T20Is. Despite the fact that Rohit has been impressive in terms of the strike rate and the number of centuries scored in T20Is, Kohli has been superior in terms of batting average.
| Stats | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
| Matches | 115 | 148 |
| Runs | 4008 | 3853 |
| Centuries (100s) | 1 | 4 |
| Fifties (50s) | 37 | 29 |
| Average | 52.74 | 30.82 |
| Strike Rate | 137.97 | 139.25 |
| Highest Score | 122* vs Afghanistan (2022) | 118 vs Sri Lanka (2017) |
Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma in IPL
Virat Kohli plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the lucrative Indian Premier League whereas Rohit Sharma represents Mumbai Indians. For the record, Virat Kohli has been playing for the same franchise since the tournament’s inception in 2008. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma kick-started his IPL career with Deccan Chargers before shifting his base to Mumbai Indians in IPL 2011.
Virat Kohli has been a better batter than Rohit Sharma in the IPL and his stats speak huge volumes of how he dominated the proceedings against the opponents. Kohli is also the leading run-scorer in the history of the IPL with 7263 runs. He scored more runs, centuries, fifties than Rohit Sharma. On the contrary, Rohit Sharma has been one of the finest captains in the history of the IPL with five titles.
| Stats | Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma |
| Matches | 237 | 243 |
| Runs | 7263 | 6211 |
| Centuries (100s) | 7 | 1 |
| Fifties (50s) | 50 | 42 |
| Average | 37.2 | 29.6 |
| Strike Rate | 130 | 130 |
| Highest Score | 113 vs Kings XI Punjab (2016) | 109* vs KKR (2012) |
Read More: Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar: Stats Comparison across all three formats
