"I always felt like his bat was big…"- Mark Wood terms Rohit Sharma as the toughest batter he has bowled to

Mark Wood said that Rohit Sharma was quite effective against short balls.

England pacer Mark Wood has termed Rohit Sharma as the toughest batter he has faced so far. He also noted how Rohit has been quite effective against short balls, which made it challenging to bowl to him.

Wood is looking forward to making his comeback to the test team in the forthcoming The Ashes 2025-26, slated to commence in November. The right-arm pacer was not part of England squad for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy due to a knee injury.

Rohit has faced Wood in nine ODIs and scored 113 runs at an average of 56.50 with two dismissals. In T20Is, the right-handed batsman has held a strike rate of 133 against Wood across three games, getting out once. In tests, Rohit has hit 92 runs across four matches against Wood.

Mark Wood picks Rohit Sharma as the toughest batter

During a podcast on The Overlap Cricket YouTube channel, the England pacer was asked about the toughest batters he has faced in his career. Wood took Rohit, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Marsh’s names. However, he termed Rohit as the toughest batter to face among them.

“In different stages of my career, I would say Rohit Sharma. 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 said.

“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,” he added.

Meanwhile, Wood last played for England during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He played two games in the tournament and picked up one wicket. He will be a crucial pacer for England during The Ashes 2025-26 in Australia.

The right-arm pacer is not part of England squad for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa in September. Rohit will next play for India during the ODI series against Australia Down Under in October. He will lead the team in the three-match ODI series.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.