Rohit Sharma reveals how he used Chris Gayle's strategy to break Universe Boss's world record

The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said he has drawn inspiration from the "Universe Boss" himself in his path after breaking Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes in international cricket on Wednesday.

In order to surpass the West Indian left-554 hander's maximums across three formats, Rohit smashed five sixes during his record-breaking 81-ball 131 against Afghanistan at the Ferozshah Kotla.

In exactly 30 less games than Gayle, Rohit attained the milestone in 453 contests.

"Universe Boss is Universe Boss. I have taken a leaf out of his book. Over the years, we have seen him, such a six-hitting machine he is wherever he plays.

"We wear the same jersey (No. 45). I am sure he is happy about it because jersey No. 45 has done it (breaking his record)," said Rohit in a video posted by the BCCI.

Rohit said a lot of work has gone into developing his six-hitting skills over the years.

"When I started playing this game, I never thought I would be able to hit sixes, leave alone that many sixes. Obviously, a lot of work has been put into it over the years. So, I am quite happy with the work that I have done.

"I am the sort of person who is not satisfied (with what he has been doing), and I want to continue what I am doing. My focus is on that. Yeah, it is a small happy moment for me," said the right-handed opener.

The 36-year-old patted his bowlers for restricting Afghanistan to a below-par total on a surface which suited batsmen.

"For us, the focus is on those small things which is to look into the opposition that we play. Today was Afghanistan, and to play well here... we understood the conditions and played well.
"I thought we played a brilliant game. The bowlers did an exceptional job to restrict Afghanistan to below 280 because the wicket was really good to bat on," said Rohit.

The skipper urged the team to focus on the job at hand rather than thinking about the knockout stages.

"It is a very different format that we play now, the World Cup - 9 league games and then the semifinals and final. For us what was important was to look at every game that came our way and not to look too far ahead," he added.

(Inputs from PTI)