'We saw it with Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, Tendulkar and Ganguly': Top BCCI official addresses Kohli vs Rohit debate

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are not only Indian cricket's batting superstars, but also its two biggest alpha males. Among the current crop of players, Kohli and Rohit's records stand out and both have been instrumental in Indian cricket's success in the last decade. While Kohli, from a promising youngster, emerged into India's greatest batter of the current generation, Rohit's career took a massive turn for the good when he was made opener in 2013. The rest, as they say, is history as Rohit and Kohli went on to dominate world cricket.

Rohit and Kohli's popularity soars through the roof, so much so that fans on social media are so loyal to one that at times they turn their back on the other. The Kohli vs Rohit debate is nothing new but one that keeps emerging every now and then. In the past, there have been reports of the two star cricketers not seeing eye to eye but all that seems to be a thing of the past now. But still, sections of people on social media bring up the topic to fuel the Rohit vs Kohli debate.

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Sharing his views on the matter, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal pointed out that this whole idea of who is the better batter between the two has only stemmed from the public and through social media, and that the board does not differentiate between Kohli and Rohit, or anyone else for that matter.

"We never think about it. It is the passion of fans that drives them and this debate. When you are attached to an emotion, then you tend to say all that. And social media is a platform where you can talk about anything. They speak their heart out because there are no restrictions. That is why people think it persists. We saw the same with Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, or later between Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. On social media, matters amplify to an extent that people believe all this is true," Dhumal told veteran journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel.

Kohli and Rohit of course have legendary individual records, but batting together, the two have formed formidable partnerships. In terms of highest partnership runs in a career, Kohli and Rohit are eight, and only the third pair behind Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly and Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan.

Kohli and Rohit have batted together in 82 innings and scored 4914 runs at an average of 63.81. This includes 15 fifty and 18 century partnerships with a best of 246 – which is one of the five 200-run partnerships Kohli and Rohit have put together.