England pacer Mark Wood said Rohit Sharma has been the toughest batter he has faced across formats.
England fast bowler Mark Wood revealed the batters who challenged him most across formats, placing Indian captain Rohit Sharma at the top. Wood has bowled to Rohit in nine ODIs, conceding 113 runs at an average of 56.5 while dismissing him twice.
In T20Is, Rohit struck at a rate above 133 in three matches, falling once. Their Test match saw Rohit score 92 runs in four games at an average of 46, again losing his wicket twice. Wood explained that Rohit’s ability to dominate short-pitched deliveries often made him look unstoppable. He also named Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, and Mitchell Marsh as other difficult opponents.
“In different stages of my career, I would say Rohit Sharma,” Wood said on The Overlap Cricket YouTube channel.
“Difficult because against the short ball, you feel like you, for myself, I’ve got a chance of getting him out, but also if he’s on that day, he smokes it. So, he was difficult. I always felt like his bat was big, just kept getting wider!” he continued.
“Kohli, obviously. Unbelievable competitor, someone that I felt you have this weakness of fourth, fifth stump drag him in. But he never seemed to miss one when I bowl him there. So, that was difficult. Smith, because he’s so unorthodox, you think you can get him LBW, but he doesn’t miss it… And Marsh,” Wood added.
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Wood is set to face Smith and Marsh again in the upcoming 2025-26 Ashes series. Rohit and Kohli, retired from most formats, may only reunite with him in the IPL or the 2027 World Cup.
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Last Updated on August 27, 2025
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