Talent – an apparently heartening term that has followed Rohit Sharma around like a shadow; even haunted him at times. It seems to be a burden that the cricketing fraternity has enforced u..
Batting Career Summary
| M | Icnncrazy | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 200 | 50 | 4s | 6s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 49 | 83 | 9 | 3379 | 212 | 45.66 | 6040 | 55.94 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 361 | 69 |
| ODI | 243 | 236 | 34 | 9825 | 264 | 48.64 | 10914 | 90.02 | 30 | 3 | 48 | 899 | 275 |
| T20I | 148 | 140 | 15 | 3853 | 118 | 30.82 | 2767 | 139.25 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 348 | 182 |
| IPL | 227 | 222 | 28 | 5879 | 109 | 30.3 | 4526 | 129.89 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 519 | 240 |
Bowling Career Summary
| M | Inn | B | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Econ | Avg | SR | 5W | 10W | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 49 | 16 | 383 | 224 | 2 | 1/26 | 1/35 | 3.51 | 112.0 | 191.5 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 243 | 38 | 593 | 515 | 8 | 2/27 | 2/27 | 5.21 | 64.38 | 74.12 | 0 | 0 |
| T20I | 148 | 9 | 68 | 113 | 1 | 1/22 | 1/22 | 9.97 | 113.0 | 68.0 | 0 | 0 |
| IPL | 227 | 32 | 339 | 453 | 15 | 4/6 | 4/6 | 8.02 | 30.2 | 22.6 | 0 |
Career Information
Test debut
vs West Indies at Eden Gardens, Nov 06, 2013
Last Test
vs Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium, Mar 09, 2023
ODI debut
vs Ireland at Civil Service Cricket Club, Jun 23, 2007
Last ODI
vs Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Mar 22, 2023
T20 debut
vs England at Kingsmead, Sep 19, 2007
Last T20
vs England at Adelaide Oval, Nov 10, 2022
Profile
Talent – an apparently heartening term that has followed Rohit Sharma around like a shadow; even haunted him at times. It seems to be a burden that the cricketing fraternity has enforced upon him and, after more than a decade in the national setting, he has been weighed down by the label.
Harsha Bhogle spoke of whispers in the domestic circuit; of coaches and scouts spotting the effortless, free-flowing stroke-play of a Mumbai teenager. Having cruised through first-class cricket, with an average well above 50, he shot to the limelight when he scored a brisk unbeaten triple-hundred at the Ranji level.
Rohit was subsequently picked for the ODI team on a selection whim after his burst of vital performances in the World T20 and his impressive Ranji Trophy record. He made an impression in the CB series Down Under, playing some crucial cameos against stalwarts like Brett Lee and Stuart Clark, and a more-than-competent Sri Lankan attack. These inspired away performances in the World T20 and the CB series caught the eye of the selectors, and warranted him an extended run with the limited-overs side.
However, inconsistency and a knack of gifting his wicket away meant that he struggled to cement his spot in the side. Critics pointed out that he had too many shots for the same ball, and this meant that shot selection was becoming a bit of an issue for him. Furthermore, several experts spotted that he had trouble playing the short ball since his stance was too side-on and that he had no back-and-across trigger movement. His pedestrian batting average of 22 to go with a string of low scores and unconverted starts meant that he failed to cement a spot in the side for the 2011 Cricket World Cup squad…
Looking back at his career, Rohit Sharma would have the Indian Premier League to thank for keeping him in the reckoning and not being discarded liked several other young and talented cricketers who burst forth into national reckoning but couldn’t make it big at the highest level. In the first two years of the IPL, his performance stood out, as he made over 350 runs each time for the Deccan Chargers and proved his worth to his franchise. He was then transferred to the Mumbai Indians franchise in 2011 and has been one of their most consistent batsmen over the years.
the retirements of stalwarts like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, a new crop of Test batsmen needed to be honed, and opened up new avenues in the team. Rohit, at long last, earned the oh-so-desirable India Test cap against West Indies in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in his fabled ‘predecessor’s’ farewell series. Rohit wasn’t going to let this opportunity go begging and embraced the Test arena immediately, easing his way to a typically Rohit-esque 177 in his debut innings; a vital innings in the context of the match, dragging the momentum India’s way. He reinforced his metaphorical statement to the selectors with an unbeaten 111 in the following Test, enchanting a tearful Wankhede in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test match and taming the West Indian bowling attack. After an injury-break, Rohit, as if to make up for lost time, ripped apart a hapless Sri Lankan attack on his way to a jaw-dropping 264 – wait for it – in an ODI at the Eden Gardens, making thirteen runs more than the entire Lankan team managed.
However, a worrying trend continued after the selectors picked him for the tour to Australia after his Kolkata epic: that of getting picked for away Test tours based on white ball performances in less testing conditions. He was picked after his 209 for the South Africa tour in late 2013 and looked technically inept in seaming conditions, committing to the line of the ball too early and playing as if it were a true wicket. His strength of picking the length early in ODIs was turning into a curse in Test matches. Similarly, having been picked for the tour of Australia on the back of his 264, he made just one fifty in 6 innings, looking completely at sea against the pace-heavy Australian attack, continuously playing away from the body, trying to hit through the line in conditions conducive to lateral movement and showing poor off-stump awareness.
gifted technique and languid elegance as his allies, Rohit found a route to consistency and has been a regular feature in the Test set-up since 2018. His white-ball, prowess, however witnessed yet another high in 2019 as he ended up as the highest run-getter in the ODI World Cup in England with 648 runs from 9 games at an average of 81 that included 67 fours and 14 sixes. Just over a month ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli stepped down as T20I captain, and there were no qualms about who the next skipper was going to be, with Rohit Sharma being the ultimate favourite. A couple of months later, BCCI named Rohit as the ODI skipper for the tour of South Africa 2021-22. Having missed the entire tour due to injury, Rohit assumed the full-time captaincy in India’s 1000th ODI in Ahmedabad (vs West Indies on 06 February 2022). A couple of weeks later, and on expected lines, Rohit took over the Test captaincy from Kohli and led India to series wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (drew series with England in England 2021-22) thus far (As of March 2023).
IPL through the years
The IPL has done a lot for Rohit Sharma. When he was a young, talented batsman who struggled with consistency, the IPL gave him a ticket to stay relevant, and he grabbed it with both hands during his time with the Deccan Chargers from 2008-2010, scoring over 350 runs in each of the three seasons. Then the IPL took him back to his home of Mumbai, and Rohit couldn’t have been happier. His statistics with the Mumbai Indians got progressively better from 2011-13, and eventually his best IPL season in 2013 – where he finished the tournament with 538 runs – coincided with MI’s maiden title win.
And finally, the IPL helped unveil a leadership side to Rohit Sharma that has impressed a lot of people. Rohit led MI to five IPL titles which is an amazing accomplishment. Rohit is also among the all-time top run-scorers in the IPL, only behind Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan
