Rohit Sharma

The destructive Right-handed batsman is the opener of the Indian team who gives a good start to the team in the initial overs and is also the sll format of the Indian national cricket team.

Full Name: Rohit Sharma

NickName: Hitman

Birth Date: April 30, 1987

Birthplace: Nagpur, Maharashtra

Nationality: India

Jersey Number: 45

Height: 5 ft 8 in

Role: Batsman

Batting Style: Right-handed Bat

Major Teams: Mumbai, India U19, India Green, India A, Deccan Chargers, India, Mumbai Indians, Indians, India Blue

Batting Career Summary

Tests

In November 2013, Rohit Sharma marked his Test debut during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series against West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where he showcased his potential with a score of 177. This innings not only announced his arrival in the longer format but also placed him second to Shikhar Dhawan’s debut score of 187 among Indian cricketers.

Continuing his impressive form, Sharma followed up his debut with an unbeaten 111 in the second Test at his home ground, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Despite these promising performances, Sharma faced a period of absence from the Test team, not featuring from 2017 to 2018. However, his recall for the 2018–19 tour of Australia came as no surprise, given his batting style and adaptability to the bounce on Australian pitches, as stated by chief selector M. S. K. Prasad.

During the Adelaide Test, Sharma contributed with scores of 37 and 1 in a victorious effort for India. A minor injury kept him out of the subsequent Perth Test, but he returned for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, where he played a crucial role with an unbeaten 63, helping India secure victory and the series lead. Despite his valuable contribution, Sharma had to return to India for the birth of his daughter.

In October 2019, Sharma achieved a significant milestone in his Test career, scoring his 2,000th run and registering his maiden double century in Tests with an outstanding 212 against South Africa. His stellar performances earned him the vice-captaincy of the Indian Test team for the tour of Australia in 2020, taking over from Cheteshwar Pujara.

Sharma continued his success in the 2021 home series against England, where he played pivotal roles in India’s victories. His century in the second Test at Chennai, where he partnered with Ajinkya Rahane for a 167-run stand, was lauded as one of the greatest of the century by The Guardian. In the third Test in Ahmedabad, he top-scored in both innings, contributing significantly to India’s win. Sharma concluded the series as India’s leading run-scorer, amassing 345 runs at an average of 58.

On 4 September 2021, Sharma achieved another milestone by scoring his first overseas Test century, making 127 against England at The Oval. This innings also saw him cross the 3,000-run mark in Test cricket. In February 2022, Sharma was appointed as the captain of the Indian Test team, succeeding Virat Kohli, ahead of a two-match series against Sri Lanka. Sunil Gavaskar praised Sharma’s leadership qualities, and Chetan Sharma, India’s chairman of selectors, expressed confidence in grooming future captains under him.

ODIs

Rohit Sharma, the elegant right-handed batsman from India, has carved a remarkable path in the world of cricket, especially in the realm of One-Day Internationals (ODIs). With a career spanning over a decade, Sharma has not only established himself as one of the most prolific run-scorers but also etched his name in the annals of cricket history with several records and milestones.

Sharma made his full international debut in a one-day match against Ireland in Belfast on 23 June 2007. While he was number seven in the batting order, he did not bat as India clinched a victory by 9 wickets. His maiden ODI half-century (52) came against Pakistan at Jaipur on 18 November 2007, marking the beginning of a promising career in the limited-overs format.

The year 2007 also saw Sharma’s selection for the Indian squad for the 2007–08 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia. He made a significant impact in that series, scoring 235 runs at an average of 33.57 with 2 fifties, including a crucial 66 in the first final at Sydney, where he partnered with Sachin Tendulkar for most of India’s successful run chase.

However, Sharma faced a downturn in his ODI performances, losing his middle-order position to Suresh Raina and later, Virat Kohli. Despite this setback, he was recalled to the ODI team for the tri-nations tournament in Bangladesh in December 2009, following his triple century in the Ranji Trophy.

Sharma’s breakthrough came in 2013 when he was moved up the batting order to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan in the ICC Champions Trophy. This pairing proved to be successful, and India won the competition, defeating hosts England in the final.

His exceptional form continued, and in November 2013, during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series, Sharma made his mark by scoring 209 off 158 balls against Australia in Bangalore, establishing a then-world record for the most sixes (16) in a one-day international innings.

One of Sharma’s most remarkable achievements came in December 2017 when he led India to victory against Sri Lanka in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli. Under Sharma’s leadership, India won the series 2–1, extending their streak of consecutive series wins.

Sharma’s prowess with the bat was further highlighted in the 2019 World Cup in England, where he scored 648 runs in the tournament, finishing as the leading run-scorer and winning the ICC’s Golden Bat award. His standout performance included five centuries, making him the first batsman to achieve this feat in a single World Cup tournament.

In September 2018, Sharma led India to victory in the Asia Cup, defeating Bangladesh in the final. He also became the first player to score three double-centuries in ODIs, achieving this milestone during the series against Sri Lanka.

Sharma’s achievements have not gone unnoticed, as he was nominated for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade award in November 2020. His leadership skills were further highlighted in July 2022 when he became the first Indian captain to lead their team to both T20I and ODI series wins in England.

Rohit Sharma in ODI World Cups

Rohit Sharma’s journey in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) has been marked by stellar performances, records, and milestones, especially in the Cricket World Cup tournaments.

In March 2015, Sharma made his first appearance in the Cricket World Cup and played in eight matches for India in the 2015 tournament in Australia. He scored a total of 330 runs in the tournament, including a crucial century, scoring 137 in the quarter-final against Bangladesh. However, India was defeated by Australia in the semi-final stage.

Sharma’s remarkable performances continued in the 2019 World Cup in England, where he was appointed as the vice-captain of India’s squad. In the opening match against South Africa, he scored 122 runs, reaching his 12,000th run milestone in international cricket. He followed this up with centuries against Pakistan, England, and Bangladesh. His century against Sri Lanka made him the first batsman to score five centuries in a single World Cup tournament and equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most centuries (6) in all World Cup matches. Sharma’s outstanding performance in the tournament saw him score a total of 648 runs, making him the leading run-scorer and earning him the ICC’s Golden Bat award, becoming the third Indian player to do so.

In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Sharma achieved significant milestones. On 8 October 2023, he was appointed as the captain of the Indian team for a match against Australia, marking his first captaincy in the Cricket World Cup. Notably, he became the oldest player to lead the Indian team in the tournament, showcasing his maturity and experience as a cricketer.

On 11 October 2023, during a match against Afghanistan, Sharma surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most centuries in World Cup history. He scored his seventh century in the tournament, highlighting his exceptional batting prowess and cementing his legacy as one of the greatest cricketers in World Cup history.

T20I

Sharma made a significant mark in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007. He played a crucial role in India’s victory, scoring an unbeaten 50 against South Africa in the quarter-finals and contributing 30 (not out) in the final against Pakistan.

On 2 October 2015, during a series against South Africa, Sharma scored 106 in the first Twenty20 international at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. This achievement made him the second Indian cricketer to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket.

In December 2017, during a series against Sri Lanka, Sharma scored a joint-fastest T20I century, reaching the milestone in just 35 balls. He ended with 118 from 43 deliveries, equalling David Miller’s record. This was his second century in Twenty20 internationals.

On 8 July 2018, during a series in England, Sharma became the second Indian batsman, after Virat Kohli, to score 2,000 runs in a Twenty20 international career. He also scored his third T20I century during this series, equalling the then-record for most T20I centuries, held by Colin Munro.

In March 2018, Sharma led Team India to victory in the Nidahas Trophy under his captaincy. In November 2018, in a series against West Indies, he scored his fourth T20I century, setting a new record for the most centuries by a player in T20I cricket.

In November 2019, in a match against Bangladesh, Sharma became the most-capped cricketer for India in T20Is, playing his 99th match. He then became the first male cricketer for India to play in 100 T20Is in the next match of the series.

In July 2022, Sharma became the first captain in T20I history to lead their team to 14 consecutive victories. With his participation in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, he became the only Indian cricketer to have played in every edition of the tournament since its inception in 2007.

On 27 October 2022, Sharma broke the record for most sixes by an Indian batsman in T20 World Cups, previously held by Yuvraj Singh, hitting his 34th six against Netherlands at Sydney Cricket Ground.

Bowling Career Summary

IPL Career Summary

Batting 

Rohit Sharma’s Test, ODI, and T20I Debut

Test debut  vs Windies at Eden Gardens, Nov 06, 2013

ODI debut vs Ireland at Civil Service Cricket Club, Jun 23, 2007

T20 debut vs England at Kingsmead, Sep 19, 2007

IPL debut vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Apr 20, 2008

Rohit Sharma Records

• He is the only Indian Captain to score a century in T20Is.
• He is the second captain to score a double century in ODIs after Virender Sehwag.
• He has also registered the most number of ducks by an Indian in T20 Internationals. (6)
• Rohit Sharma becomes 1st Indian to hit 300 sixes in T20 cricket.
• Rohit Sharma is the fastest Indian and second fastest in the world to hit 300 international sixes.
• Rohit Sharma is the only Indian and second in the world to hit three T20Is centuries.
• Rohit Sharma holds the record of hitting the most number of T20Is centuries along with Colin Munro.
• Rohit Sharma is the second-fastest opener in the world to 5000 ODI runs. He took 102 innings to do so.
• Rohit Sharma is the second-fastest opener in the world to 4000 ODI runs. He took 83 innings to do so.
• Rohit Sharma is the second-highest run-scorer for India in T20Is only behind Virat Kohli.
• On 2 October 2015, Sharma became the second Indian to make a century in T20I cricket, thus becoming the highest scorer in a single T20I innings for India. He scored 106 off 66 balls. This record was broken when K. L. Rahul scored 110* against West Indies on 27 August 2016. Sharma reclaimed it on 22 December 2017 by scoring 118.
• Sharma became the second Indian after Suresh Raina to have scored a century each in each of the three forms of International Cricket.
• On 13 November 2014, Sharma became the highest individual ODI scorer with 264 runs against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. He also became the only player to hit three double hundreds in ODI cricket match.
• Sharma broke the record set by Shane Watson for Most runs from fours and sixes in an innings by scoring 186 runs in boundaries.
• With 33 fours, Sharma hit the most number of fours in an ODI inning.
• Sharma has the highest number of sixes, 16, in an ODI inning.
• On 12 January 2016, Sharma scored 171* against Australia in a one-day international between India and Australia at Perth. This is the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia in Australia. The previous top score against Australia in Australia was Viv Richards’ 153 not out at the MCG in 1979–80.
• On 13 December 2017, Rohit scored 208* against Sri Lanka to register his 3rd ODI double-century of his career, becoming the only batsman to score three double centuries in ODI history.
• On 22 December 2017, against Sri Lanka, Rohit scored the 2nd T20I century of his career and the joint-fastest century with David Miller in T20 International cricket (35 balls).
• He became only the fifth player to score 2 international T20I centuries after Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Colin Munro. His knock of 118 was also the highest individual score by an Indian cricketer in T20Is.
• With 66 sixes, Sharma hit the most number of sixes in a year (2017).
• 91.52 – Percentage of runs scored in boundaries by Rohit – 108 out of 118. This is the highest for any T20I innings of 30 or more balls.
• He had scored the most number of sixes i.e. 10 by an Indian batsman in T20Is.
• He also holds the record for hitting the most number of fours by an Indian batsman in T20Is i.e. 12 in an innings, he did it twice.
• With his knock of 208 in Mohali, Rohit also became the 3rd player to score the most number of 150s (5) in ODI cricket in history drawing level with Sachin Tendulkar and David Warner. Previously.
• Tied with MS Dhoni for captaining a team to three IPL titles.
• First-person to score a century in all formats of the game in a single tour.
• Most sixes for India in T20Is.
• Most sixes by a Batsmen in T20Is
• Most 50+ scores in T20Is.
• Rohit Sharma brought up 8000 runs in ODI cricket in the 5th ODI against Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. He became the joint-fastest (200 innings) to the landmark along with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.

More About Rohit Sharma

Rohit Gurunath Sharma was born on April 30, 1987, in Bansod, Nagpur, Maharashtra. His father Gurunath Sharma was a caretaker of a storehouse in a transport firm. Due to his father’s low income Sharma was kept with his grandparents and uncles in Borivali in the western Mumbai suburb. He used to visit his parents every weekend who lived in a single-room house in Dombivli, Mumbai.

How it all began

He was a keen observer of cricket and used to play for hours at a stretch. Fortunately, he had a family of sports lovers with whom he used to discuss the game all the time. His inclination towards the game helped him to convince his uncle to join a coaching camp. Even then his father was not able to pay for it. So he was funded by his uncle for the admission to the camp.

His coach at the camp, Dinesh Lad suggested him to change his school to Swami Vivekanand International School. Dinesh was the coach in that school with better cricket facilities but Sharma had no money to afford it for longer period. Upon learning it the coach got him a scholarship for the same. For four years he was under Dinesh’s guidance in that school without paying a penny and did well in cricket.

Rohit Sharma began his career as an off-spinner who could bat a bit. His coach noticed his batting ability and gave him a chance to open the innings from number eight. He scored a century the Harris and Giles Shield school cricket tournaments on his debut as an opener.

Upon learning that his uncle could not afford to pay for his fees there, Lad arranged for a four-year sports scholarship for the talented boy and encouraged the off-spin bowler to open as a batsman. He subsequently scored a century on his debut as an opener during the Harris and Giles Shield school cricket tournaments. That unbeaten 120 in his first inter-school match gave the first glimpse of the hitman in making.

Domestic cricket

Rohit played domestic cricket for West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy of 2005. Then it was his brilliant 142 off 123 balls against North Zone in Udaipur that people started noticing him. He continued to showcase his mettle when he made his First-Class appearances with India A. His Ranji Trophy debut season in 2006-2007 was not an epic one but, his double century against Gujrat was one of the highlights of the season.

Way to go

Thankfully the selectors by then noticed the special 20-year old and gave him chance in limited over cricket. Initially, he had to struggle for a few years. He was continuously in and out of the team for five years which made him miss the ICC World Cup 2011.

Till December 2012, Rohit had played 81 innings and scored less than 2000 runs at an average of just 30 with only two centuries. But then a revival was done by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit was promoted to the top order to open the innings. It was in 2013 ICC Champions Trophy that Rohit was seen opening Indian innings with Shikhar Dhawan. That marked a major moment in Indian cricket as the duo played an important role to make Indian batting lineup one of the best in the contemporary cricket world.

Once an uncertain member of the team, Rohit Sharma is the only man to hit three ODI double hundreds. Moreover, he is the present vice-captain of the team in limited-overs cricket but hasn’t quite replicated his success in Test Matches till now.

Personal life

On December 13, 2015, Rohit Sharma married his long-time friend and girlfriend Ritika Sajdeh. Ritika is a sports event manager who initially met Rohit for professional reason. She used to take care of Rohit’s cricket engagements as his manager. They used to meet mainly for work and then became the best of friends. Their friendship soon turned into love and they decided to take a step ahead. After dating for six long years, the star member of the Indian team decided to propose Ritika at a special place. Rohit proposed Ritika at the Borivali Sports Club, Mumbai where he started his cricket career at the age of 11. Rohit decided to take this major decision of his at the most important and memorable place of his life. Ritika Sajdeh is also a beloved friend to Yuvraj Singh who played a role in introducing these lovebirds. Presently they live in their 4-BHK apartment in Ahuja Towers, Worli, Mumbai. In December of 2018, the couple was blessed with a baby girl whom they named Samaira.

Rohit Sharma also kept a promise he had made to his parents. He took them to a posh area of Borivali from that single-room house in Dombivili to a posh area in Borivali. Rohit also funded for his younger brother Vishal’s higher study in hotel management and sent him to Florida to study hotel management.

In 2015, he was ranked as the 46th richest Indian celebrity by Forbes. Presently, Rohit stands among the top 10 richest Indian cricketers. He has been associated with a number of renowned brands like Fair and Lovely, Maggi, Lays to Adidas, Nisan and Oppo, CEAT, etc.