Hitman of Cricket

Oozing with batting talent— malleable wrists, knack to find gaps, and sublime stroke play— he is a spectator’s delight when in full flow.

Consistently inconsistent, he faded in and out of the limelight. Letting his batting do the talking, he worked his way up to become India’s most devastating batsman. 

He is the only cricketer to score two double-centuries in ODI cricket.

Childhood

Rohit Gurunath Sharma was born on April 30, 1987in Nagpur. He received his primary education from Our Lady of Vailankanni High School Borivali, Mumbai, and then enrolled in the Swami Vivekanand International School Borivali on a scholarship.

Excelling in school cricket tournaments, it didn’t take long for the selectors to notice his talent. He was selected for the Mumbai Under-20.

He made his mark at the 2006 U-19 World Cup, finishing 11th on the ranking of top run-makers in the tournament.

Career

He made his One Day International debut against Ireland at Belfast in 2007, although he did not bat in the match.

It  was during India’s ICC World T20 2007 triumph that he made a real name with a crucial fifty in a must-win game against South Africa and a quick-fire cameo in the final.

It was followed up with a good performance during the tri-series Down Under in 2008. In December 2009, he scored a triple century in the Ranji Trophy.

However, in the years after that encouraging start, Rohit was unable to maintain consistency and couldn’t establish himself wasting ample opportunities that he was given.

In 2010, he came close to a Test debut at Nagpur but injured himself on the morning of the game. While he was on the fringes and shined in patches, he was left out of the 2011 World Cup squad.

He returned well with two ‘Man of the Series’ awards against West Indies in 2011.

His form continued to fluctuate in the months that followed – a string of poor scores in the CB series in Australia and a horrible tour of Sri Lanka – where he scored 5,0,0,4 and 4 in 5 ODIs. He remained a promising but unfulfilled talent over the next couple of years.

It all came together finally for Rohit in 2013, when he was promoted to open the innings in ODIs. The move turned out to be a masterstroke, as he found form in the Champions Trophy, and then went into overdrive in the ODI series against Australia.

His good performance led to a place in the Test team and he did not disappoint. He scored back-to-back centuries in his first two tests to become only the third Indian to do so.

Indian Premier League

Rohit was signed up by the Deccan Chargers franchise. He is one of the most successful players in IPL and has the unique record of finishing the match by scoring a last-ball six.

He has one IPL century and a hatrick to his name. He was one of the leading run scorers in the 2008 IPL season with 404 runs at an average of 36.72.

In the 2011 IPL auction, he was sold to the Mumbai Indians. He was promoted as the captain of the team in 2013 season where he led the team to its maiden IPL title.

Records                                                                   

Rohit Sharma has the highest individual ODI score with 264 runs.

With 33 fours, Rohit hit the largest number of fours in a single ODI.

With 16 sixes, he has hit the most number of sixes in an ODI innings.