Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been a defining pair - Kumar Sangakkara

While the format has seen intrepid stroke play and power-hitting becoming an integral component of scoring runs, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have stuck to traditional textbook shots to consistently yield runs for India - an attribute that captivates Kumar Sangakkara.

In an exclusive chat with Pommie Mbangwa, Sangakkara praised the two Indian stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for redefining the art of batting in the modern era. He also contrasted the pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with the former Indian stalwarts, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

"If you look at Rahul (Dravid) and Dada (Sourav Ganguly), both of them are orthodox batsmen. They play beautiful cricket shots and are very technically correct, Dravid may be a little bit more so, but the ability to be as destructive with such rate and precision stroke-making is something that has to be really admired."

The former Sri Lankan batsman is of the opinion that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma make batting look so effortless despite not employing a power-hitting methodology.

"If you take the modern-day game, India has two of the best players in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who play orthodox cricket but who are just absolutely destructive in any format of the game. You don’t have to muscle the ball or put too much effort or look ugly doing it, they just play good cricket shots and results come," Sangakkara was quoted as saying on Star Sports' show Cricket Connected. 

Kumar Sangakkara also asserted that every era has a defining pair, who often set unparalleled benchmarks on the field. The former Sri Lankan captain is of the opinion that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been remarkable with the willow in the modern era.

"It’s incredibly hard, the volume of cricket that Indian athletes play. So, I think you have to have a lot of respect for Rohit and Virat but understand that it’s all because of the players that have gone before and have done all the hard work then as well. So, it’s a knock-on effect, so in every era, there’s always a defining pair and in the modern era, it's Rohit and Virat for India for sure," Sangakkara added.