'Watched His Videos 100 Times Before Facing Him': Rohit Sharma Names Toughest Bowler He Has Faced

Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, has given nightmares to numerous bowlers in the international circuit. The only player with three double-tons in the ODIs, Rohit has accumulated more than 18000 runs across formats and still going strong. Given his records, it seems like Rohit has decoded almost every bowler across the world. But surprisingly, there was one speedster the Indian batter always prepared for – former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn.

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During a recent interaction with Dubai Eye 103.8, the Indian skipper revealed he used to watch Steyn’s videos at least 100 times before facing him in the game. The former pacer has been one of the most fearsome bowlers in world cricket, picking up 439 Test wickets, and 196 and 64 scalps in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.

“I have gone and watched his videos like 100 times before I went in to bat. That was Dale Steyn. He is an absolute legend of the game. And what he has achieved in his career is just superb to watch. And I have faced him many times. He is quick. He used to swing the ball at that pace, which is not easy. It is quite tough. And he was a fierce competitor. He just went out there wanting to do everything, to win every game and every session, so it was nice to come up against him,” Rohit said in an interaction with Dubai Eye 103.8.

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This wasn’t the first occasion when Rohit admitted getting troubled by Steyn. Speaking with veteran sports journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel, Rohit said the former Proteas pacer has always challenged him.

“If a bowler challenged me, and I had fun playing against him, it has to be Dale Steyn. He never deviated from the ideal length. He used to swing [the ball] at a high pace. There are a few bowlers who make the ball swing above 140 [kmph],” Rohit had said.

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Though Rohit named Steyn as a threat to his batting, the former pacer had the better of the India batter only once in his illustrious career. During India’s tour of South Africa in 2013, Steyn dismissed Rohit for a duck.