Former BCCI chief selector Sandeep Patil stirred a fresh controversy saying opener Rohit Sharma is a better batsman than skipper Virat Kohli in limited overs cricket.

"Virat Kohli fans might not like it but I have to say Rohit Sharma is currently the better batsman. Virat is definitely a great batsman, no doubt about it. He is India's best Test batsman but when it comes to limited overs cricket, Rohit is ahead of him," Patil was quoted as saying by ABP news.

Rohit recently blasted a record third ODI double ton, leading the home side to a 2-1 win in the three-match rubber against Sri Lanka in the absence of regular skipper Kohli, who took a break to tie the knot with Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma.

The Mumbai batsman continued his purple patch in the subsequent three-match T20 International rubber, slamming his second T20 ton off just 35 deliveries (joint fastest) and also became the only Indian to do so. India whitewashed the Islanders in the T20I series.

Both Rohit and Kohli have slammed 11 centuries each in the 50-over format of the game since 2015. However, it is the India opener who has taken less innings to reach there.

Rohit has slammed 11 tons in mere 48 ODIs that he played since 2015, whereas Kohli has done so in 56 matches.

But Kohli leads the race in terms of runs as he has scored 2822 runs (12 fifties) while Rohit has aggregated 2672 (11 fifties) during this time.