Rohit Sharma is an Indian cricketer who is currently the Vice Captain of the Indian One-Day International and Twenty-20 squads. He is the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. The right-handed batsman, nicknamed “The Hitman” for his hard-hitting ability, has a record three double-centuries in ODIs, as well as centuries in Test and T20 formats. He started his career at the age of 20, and his cool and mature success soon won him recognition. During his early career, though, a tough patch and an untimely injury halted his ODI and Test debuts. He was able to display his talents as a batsman, occasional bowler, and captain thanks to the new IPL T20 tournament. After being promoted to the starting position, he excelled particularly in limited-over formats. Despite a late Test debut, he made an impact with back-to-back centuries in his first two games.
Childhood and Puberty
Rohit Gurunath Sharma was born on April 30, 1987, in Bansod, Nagpur, Maharashtra, to Gurunath Sharma and Purnima Sharma, the caretaker of a transportation firm’s storehouse. He grew up with his grandparents and uncles in the western Mumbai suburb of Borivli, and visited his parents every weekend because his father’s earnings were inadequate to raise him and his younger brother Vishal.
He got involved in cricket at the age of eight and convinced his uncle to send him Rs.200 to join a coaching camp led by Dinesh Lad. Lad, who also coached at Swami Vivekanand International School, which had better cricketing facilities, saw his talent and urged him to move there.
When Lad heard that his uncle couldn’t afford his education, he arranged for a four-year athletics scholarship for the gifted youngster and persuaded the off-spin bowler to bat first. During the Harris and Giles Shield school cricket competitions, he went on to score a century on his debut as an opener.
Career in Domestic
In March 2005, Rohit Sharma made his domestic cricket debut for West Zone against Central Zone in Gwalior in the Deodhar Trophy. He made headlines during the same tournament when he hit an unbeaten 142 in 123 balls against North Zone in Udaipur.
Even before his Ranji debut, he was picked for the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy and made the list of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy, but he did not make the final team. In July 2006, he made his first-class debut for India A against New Zealand A in Darwin, and then made his Ranji debut for Mumbai in the 2006-07 season, scoring a double-century against Gujarat.
Career International
Rohit Sharma made his One-Day International debut against Ireland in Belfast during India’s 2007 tour, but he did not bat in the match. On September 20, 2007, he received the ‘Man of the Match’ award for leading India to victory against South Africa in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 with an unbeaten 50 off 40 balls.
Because of his maiden ODI half-century against Pakistan in Jaipur on November 18, 2007, he was picked for the 2007–08 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia. He added two more half-centuries to his total in Australia, including a 66 in the first final at Sydney during India’s successful run chase.
A string of weak results cost him his place in the team’s middle order, and even a triple-century in Ranji could not guarantee him a spot in the playing eleven during India’s 2009 tour of Bangladesh. In February 2010, after being picked in place of an injured V. V. S. Laxman, he was unable to make his test debut due to an injury suffered while playing football during the warm-up session.
In May 2010, he scored two back-to-back hundreds against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in a tri-series, but bad form in South Africa cost him a place in the Indian World Cup team. He won his first ‘Man of the Series’ award for his two half-centuries against West Indies in 2011, including a match-winning 86 off 91 balls after India were reduced to 92-6.
He was promoted to open with Shikhar Dhawan for the Champions Trophy in 2013, after which the pair formed an outstanding rapport and led India to a host of series victories. On a personal note, he struck 16 sixes in an ODI innings and scored 209 runs off 158 balls against Australia in Bangalore, shattering the world record for most sixes hit in an ODI innings.
In November 2013, he made his test debut during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test match, scoring two back-to-back hundreds to become the third Indian batsman to do so, after Mohammad Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly.
His 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014 set a host of ODI records, including the highest individual ODI ranking, the first ODI 250, and the first time a player had two double-centuries in a single match.
Career In IPL
In the 2008 IPL, Rohit Sharma was picked by the Deccan Chargers franchise for a fee of US$750,000, and he earned the Orange Cap as the top run-scorer for a period of time.
In the 2011 season, the Mumbai Indians paid US$2 million for him, and under his leadership, the team won its first IPL championship in 2013, followed by two more victories in 2015 and 2017.
Achievements & Awards
Apart from numerous ‘Man of the Match’ and ‘Man of the Series’ awards, Rohit Sharma was honoured by the Indian government with the ‘Arjuna Award’ in 2015.
He has three ODI double centuries, the most by any team, including the highest individual ODI score of 264 against Sri Lanka.
With his 106 in the first T20I against South Africa at Dharamshala on October 2, 2015, he became the second Indian cricketer after Suresh Raina to score centuries in all forms of the game.
He was the captain of the Mumbai Indians team that won three IPL titles. He is also the fifth player in IPL history to score a hat-trick.