The term "talent" has been both encouraging and burdensome for Rohit Sharma throughout his cricketing career. It has followed him like a shadow, occasionally haunting him. The cricketing fraternity has imposed this label on him, and after more than a decade in the national setup, he has felt the weight of expectations.
Harsha Bhogle spoke of whispers circulating in the domestic circuit, where coaches and scouts marveled at the effortless and elegant stroke play of a young Mumbai teenager. After excelling in first-class cricket with an average well above 50, Rohit Sharma grabbed the spotlight when he scored a rapid unbeaten triple-hundred at the Ranji level.
His journey truly began when he was called upon as a last-minute replacement for an injured Yuvraj Singh in the 2007 World T20. In a league game against the hosts, Rohit entered the Kingsmead ground amidst a lackluster start for the Indian team. With remarkable composure and ease, the 20-year-old confidently crafted a fluent half-century against formidable bowlers like Pollock, Ntini, and Morkel. He displayed maturity under pressure by staying till the end of the innings, helping India achieve a respectable total. Ultimately, India defended their score, eliminating South Africa from the tournament on their home turf.
Indian cricket fans have a tendency to seek like-for-like replacements and draw parallels with the past. They find joy in discovering similarities with past cricketing icons. With their deep-rooted fascination for statistics, there exists a cricket romantic who feels nostalgic when presented with the idea of an elegant batsman from Mumbai with a graceful batting style. Indeed, Rohit Sharma was hailed as the long-awaited successor to the great Sachin Tendulkar, destined to fill the number 4 spot in the Test batting lineup. It seemed to make sense—the ample time he had to play his shots, his effortless stroke-making even against express pace, and his wide array of shots. It appeared to be a gift to cricket in the post-Tendulkar era.
Consequently, Rohit Sharma was selected for the ODI team based on his impressive performances in the World T20 and his stellar record in the Ranji Trophy. He made his mark in the CB series in Australia, playing crucial cameos against formidable bowlers like Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, and a competent Sri Lankan attack. These noteworthy performances in the World T20 and CB series caught the attention of selectors, earning him an extended run in the limited-overs side.
However, inconsistency and a tendency to give away his wicket proved to be his downfall. Critics pointed out that he often had too many shots for the same ball, leading to issues with shot selection. Moreover, experts noticed that his side-on stance hindered his ability to handle short-pitched deliveries, as he lacked a trigger movement to move back and across the crease. With a pedestrian batting average of 22 and a series of low scores and unconverted starts, Rohit failed to secure a spot in the Indian squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Rohit Sharma's career owes a debt of gratitude to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for keeping him in contention and preventing him from fading away like many other talented young cricketers who couldn't make it big at the international level. In the initial years of the IPL, Rohit's performances stood out as he consistently scored over 350 runs for the Deccan Chargers, showcasing his value to his franchise. In 2011, he was transferred to the Mumbai Indians, where he has been one of their most reliable batsmen ever since.
Despite his IPL success, Rohit struggled to establish himself in the Indian national team. He found himself in and out of the playing eleven, even with a well-established middle order. In a heartbreaking turn of events, he came close to making his Test debut in the Nagpur Test against South Africa in 2010 but suffered an unfortunate injury during a warm-up football game. As a result, he was ruled out of the series and had to wait four more years for another opportunity in Test cricket.
Rohit once again showcased his talent in the IPL in 2011, earning a comeback into the ODI squad for the West Indies tour, where he scored three half-centuries in five matches. However, this resurgence was short-lived as he struggled with low scores in the CB series in Australia and had a nightmare tour of Sri Lanka, managing just 14 runs in five innings, including two ducks. Despite his inconsistent performances, the selectors surprisingly continued to back him, recognizing his potential.
Due to a lack of viable options for the opening slot in ODIs, Indian captain MS Dhoni decided to try Rohit as an opener. This move proved to be a masterstroke, as Rohit finally found his groove after a tumultuous five years of being in and out of the team. With the luxury of time to settle in as an opener, Rohit formed a formidable partnership with Shikhar Dhawan, playing a crucial role in India's unbeaten and triumphant Champions Trophy campaign in 2013. Finally, Rohit started to live up to his talent, although the "talented" tag continued to follow him. In an ODI series against Australia characterized by high-scoring matches, Rohit amassed 491 runs in six outings, culminating in a blistering 209 in the deciding ODI in Bangalore. With this remarkable innings, he joined the elite club of ODI double-centurions, consisting of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
After the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, there was a need to groom a new generation of Test batsmen for the Indian team. Rohit Sharma finally earned his Test cap against the West Indies in the first Test at the Eden Gardens, which happened to be Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series. Rohit seized the opportunity and made an impressive debut, scoring a typically stylish 177 in his first innings. This innings was crucial in shifting the momentum in India's favor. He followed it up with an unbeaten 111 in the next Test, adding to the emotional atmosphere of Tendulkar's farewell match at the Wankhede Stadium, where the crowd was moved to tears. Rohit's performance against the West Indies showcased his talent and reinforced his case for a permanent place in the Test side.
However, there was a concerning pattern emerging in Rohit's Test career. He was often selected for away Test tours based on his performances in limited-overs cricket, particularly in less challenging conditions. This led to struggles for him in seaming conditions, where he appeared technically inadequate, committing to the line of the ball too early and playing as if the pitches were flat. His strength of reading the length early in ODIs became a weakness in Test matches. This was evident in his performances during the South Africa tour in late 2013 and the tour of Australia, where he struggled against the pace-heavy Australian attack and showed poor awareness of his off stump.
Despite the challenges in Test cricket, Rohit continued to excel in ODIs. He performed well in the 2015 World Cup, finishing as India's second-highest run-scorer with 330 runs, including a century in the quarter-final against Bangladesh and two fifties.
Rohit finally had a breakthrough as an opener in ODIs during the limited-overs tour of Australia in early 2016. He scored back-to-back centuries and a 99 in the series, proving his worth and justifying the faith of the selectors and his captain. He became a dominant force in one-day cricket, often starting his innings slowly but unleashing an onslaught once he got set. During an extended home season, Rohit received further opportunities in Test cricket and showed significant improvement in his technique. He played closer to his body and prevented his ODI game from negatively influencing his more solid Test approach. He had a successful home season, scoring four fifties and a hundred in his last five innings. He culminated the season with an unprecedented third ODI double-century against a struggling Sri Lankan bowling attack.
After finding his way to consistency, Rohit Sharma has become a regular feature in the Indian Test set-up since 2018. However, his white-ball prowess reached new heights in 2019 when he emerged as the highest run-scorer in the ICC Cricket World Cup held in England. He amassed 648 runs in nine matches at an average of 81, including 67 fours and 14 sixes.
In a significant turn of events, just prior to the 2021 T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli stepped down as the captain of the Indian T20I team. Rohit Sharma was the clear favorite to take over the captaincy, given his experience and success in limited-overs cricket. A few months later, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Rohit as the captain of the ODI team for the tour of South Africa in 2021-22.
Unfortunately, Rohit missed the entire tour of South Africa due to an injury. However, he assumed the full-time captaincy in India's 1000th ODI match, which took place in Ahmedabad against the West Indies on February 6, 2022. A couple of weeks later, as expected, Rohit Sharma took over the Test captaincy from Virat Kohli. Under his leadership, India secured series victories against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In the 2021-22 tour of England, India managed to draw the series against the hosts.
Rohit Sharma - Career Information
- Test debut: November 6, 2013, against West Indies at Eden Gardens
- Last Test: July 20, 2023, against West Indies at Queen's Park Oval
- ODI debut: June 23, 2007, against Ireland at Civil Service Cricket Club
- Last ODI: July 27, 2023, against West Indies at Kensington Oval
- T20 debut: September 19, 2007, against England at Kingsmead
- Last T20: November 10, 2022, against England at Adelaide Oval
- IPL debut: April 20, 2008, for the Deccan Chargers against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens
- Last IPL: May 26, 2023, for the Mumbai Indians against Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Rohit Sharma - Teams Information
- India: He has been a prominent member of the Indian national cricket team across all formats, including Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.
- Deccan Chargers: Rohit played for the Deccan Chargers franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the early years of his career. The Deccan Chargers team is now defunct.
- India A: He has also represented the India A team, which serves as a platform for young and promising players to showcase their talent and gain exposure.
- India Green: Rohit has played for the India Green team, which competes in domestic tournaments and serves as a development team for Indian cricket.
- India U19: In his early days, Rohit represented the India Under-19 team, participating in youth tournaments and international matches.
- Mumbai: At the domestic level, Rohit has been a key player for the Mumbai cricket team in various domestic competitions, including the Ranji Trophy.
- Mumbai Indians: In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rohit has been associated with the Mumbai Indians franchise since 2011. He has enjoyed immense success with the team, leading them to multiple IPL titles as captain.
- Indians: Rohit has also played for the Indians team, which represents the Rest of India in the annual Irani Cup match against the Ranji Trophy champions.
- India Blue: He has represented the India Blue team in domestic tournaments like the Duleep Trophy, which features teams representing different zones of India.
- Board President's XI: Rohit has played for the Board President's XI, which is a team formed to play against touring international sides in warm-up matches.