Rohit Sharma Biography
Rohit Gurunath Sharma is undoubtedly the cleanest hitter of a cricket ball you will ever see. Nothing can be as pleasing as the sight of the ‘Hitman’ striking the ball over the covers. Rohit Sharma currently plays for and captain of the Indian Cricket Team in the tests and ODI. He was formerly the captain of India in the T20I matches until his retirement after India’s win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
He was known as one of the best batters of his generation and one of the greatest opening batters of all time is known for his timing, six-hitting abilities, and leadership skills. He was part of the team that won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and was a member of the squad that won the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Once hailed as a ‘talented’ youngster to later ridiculed by the critics for his inconsistency and now becoming an important cog in the Indian batting lineup, this Mumbaikar’s journey is nothing short of a movie right there in the making.
Rohit is also the captain of the IPL team Mumbai Indians. Under his captaincy, MI won titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Sharma currently holds the record for the highest individual score in One Day Internationals. He scored a record 264 off 173 balls against Srilanka on November 13, 2014. Rohit is also the only player to score two double centuries in One Day Internationals. He is also the only person to score 250+ in ODI innings.
He also holds the record for scoring the most hundreds in a single edition of the cricket World Cup, for which he won the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award in 2019. He is the only player to win 50 T20I matches as captain.
Rohit Sharma’s Family
Rohit was born on April 30, 1987, in Maharashtra to Gurunath Sharma and Purnima Sharma. Rohit’s father was a caretaker of a transport firm storehouse while his mother belongs to Visakhapatnam. Earlier in his childhood, he used to live with his grandparents and uncles in Borivali.
Rohit Sharma is married to Ritika Sajdeh on December 13, 2015. She was born on 21 December 1987 to Bobby Sajdeh and Tina Sajdeh. Ritika had a brother who works as a manager at IMG Reliance. After completing her education, Ritika joined her cousin’s company- Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment as a sports manager.
Their meeting was a special one as Ritika met Rohit Sharma at a Reebok shoot in 2008. Her ‘Rakhi Brother’ Yuvraj Singh, had introduced them to each other. They started to date in 2009 for six years before Rohit proposed to her at the Borivali Sports Club where he began his career.
They got married at a five-star hotel in suburban Bandra which featured the appearance of several cricketers and Bollywood stars. After their marriage, Ritika manages her husband’s sports tours while also accompanying him at various matches. After 3 years in wedlock, the couple gave birth to a baby girl on 30 December 2018 and named her Samaira. Both Samaira and Ritika Sajdeh are seen encouraging Rohit from the stands in various matches for both India and Mumbai Indians.
Rohit Sharma’s Journey To Cricket
- In the initial days of his career, Rohit was coach by Dinesh Lad at the Swami Vivekanand International School, Mumbai. He taught Rohit without any coaching fee.
- It’s quite surprising that before becoming an opener batsman, Rohit was an off-spinner bowler.
- But coach Dinesh Lad noticed his batting ability and promoted him to open the innings. Rohit performed well in the Harris and Giles Shield school cricket tournaments and scored a century on debut as an opener.
- After a long time, he bowled 2 overs of off Spin in the 1st test against England in 2021.
Domestic Career
- In March 2005, Rohit made his List A debut for West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy.
- In the same tournament, Sharma scored an unbeaten inning of 142 in 123 balls against North Zone at Udaipur. This gave Sharma an opportunity to represent India A at Abu Dhabi against Australia.
- Sharma was also named in the 30-man list for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy tournament but failed to make the squad.
- Sharma made his India A debut against New Zealand A in a first-class match at Darwin in July 2006.
- Months later, Rohit made his Ranji Trophy debut for his Mumbai in the 2006–07 season and was a part of the victorious Mumbai team.
- Sharma has been a part of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team for his entire domestic career.
- Rohit was appointed team captain ahead of Mumbai for the 2013–14 season after the retirement of Ajith Agarkar.
IPL Career
- Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League. He has won the IPL trophy five times, four times as the captain of the Mumbai Indians.
- Sharma’s IPL campaign started with the Deccan Chargers. He was the vice-captain and a key member of the DC squad which won the coveted trophy in its second season.
- In 2011, Sharma was purchased by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 20 Lakhs. However, his contribution to the Ambani-owned franchise has been invaluable.
- Sharma was given the captainship of the franchise and led the MI to glory.
- In 2015, he led Mumbai Indians to win the IPL title by beating Chennai Super Kings with a margin of 41 runs in the final.
- In 2017, the Mumbai Indians finished at the top of the table and also went on to win the final under his captaincy.
- Rohit Sharma and co became the most successful side in the IPL when they won it for the fifth time in 2020.
- Rohit Sharma leads the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2021 which is scheduled to play from April 9, 2021.
- With the bat, Sharma leads from the front as an example. He has played 201 IPL matches, scoring 5249 runs at an average of 31.24 and a strike rate of 130.6. He has hit 39 half-centuries and a sole century.
- During the IPL 2022 season, Rohit Sharma amassed 268 runs in 14 matches he played with a high score of 48 runs with a strike rate of 120.18.
- During the IPL 2023 season, Rohit Sharma smashed 332 runs in 16 matches with a high score of 65 runs and a strike rate of 132.80.
- During the IPL 2024 season, he was removed from MI Captaincy where the side lost their first three matches of the campaign.
Rohit Sharma’s International Career
ODI Career
- Rohit Sharma received his first ODI call-up against Ireland on 23 June 2007. Although he did not get to bat, India won the match by 8 wickets.
- At this point in time, Rohit Sharma used to bat in the middle-order. When he finally got a chance to bat against South Africa, Sharma was unable to play well as he got out at 8.
- Sharma scored his 1st half-century against Pakistan in November 2007 followed by a 39* against Australia and 70* against Sri Lanka in February 2008.
- His triple century in Ranji in 2009 ensured he returned to the ODI squad in 2010.
- This time Sharma took his chance as he scored his first ODI century (114) against Zimbabwe followed by another century against Sri Lanka (101*).
- Rohit Sharma was unable to show consistent performances leading him to miss out on the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.
- Post WC, Sharma’s career got a revival when MS Dhoni recalled him and promoted him as an opener in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma never turned back then.
- Sharma scored 177 runs in 5 innings at an average of 35.40 with two half-centuries, as India went on to lift its second Champions Trophy.
- The next year, Rohit scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, and in doing so surpassed Virender Sehwag’s 219 to become the highest-scoring batsman in an ODI. The record still stands, as nobody has been able to cross it.
- By the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan were the Men in Blue’s newest openers. The duo has opened for India in 105 innings, scoring 4708 runs at an average of 45.26.
- The achieved personal highest opening partnership of 210 runs was achieved against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2018.
- In 2017, Rohit Sharma was named the Indian captain for the first time in his career. India won the ODI series 2-1 under his leadership.
- He again led India in the 2018 Asia Cup after Virat Kohli was rested after the England tour. India won the tournament after beating Bangladesh in the final.
- India were the favorites to win the 2019 Cricket World Cup, mainly due to the batting powerhouse of the top order.
- Sharma scored a century in the first match against South Africa.
- He scored a half-century in the second match against Australia followed by 140 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
- Sharma played a crucial role as India we unbeaten in the first five matches of the World Cup. In the 6th match against England, he scored 102 as India’s unbeaten record came to an end.
- Rohit scored two more centuries in the last two group-stage matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as India secured the top spot.
- Rohit finished as the tournament’s high scorer 648 runs.
- He scored 5 centuries and 2 half-centuries and is the only player to do so in a single World Cup.
- The hitman finished as the batsman with the most ODI runs in 2019. He scored 1490 runs in 27 innings with an average of 57.30 and a strike rate of 89.92.
- In his ODI career, Sharma has played 227 ODI matches scoring 9,205 runs with an average of 48.96 and a strike rate of 88.9. Sharma also has 29 centuries and 43 half-centuries with 3 double centuries to his name.
- On December 8, 2021, BCCI named Rohit Sharma as the skipper of the Indian white-ball cricket team after Virat Kohli stepped down from the T20I skipper role.
- Rohit Sharma is expected to lead the side in the 3-match ODI series in the India tour of South Africa 2021-22 but as Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the South Africa tour owing to an injury KL Rahul has been appointed as India’s ODI skipper.
- On February 6, 2022, Rohit Sharma led the Indian cricket team for the first time as the full-time captain in the India vs West Indies 1st ODI match at Ahmedabad. Notably, this is also India’s 1000th ODI.
- Rohit Sharma led the Indian squad during the ODI World Cup where the side was one of the successful teams in the campaign.
- During the opening match against Australia on October 08, he was sent out on a duck at Chidambaram Stadium, but the side pulled out victory in the match by six wickets.
- He smashed 131 runs during the match against Afghanistan on October 11 where India won the match by 8 wickets at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
- Rohit Sharma posted 86 runs in the match against Pakistan on October 14 where India won the match by 7 wickets.
- India won the match against Bangladesh where he scored 48 runs on October 19 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
- India won the match against New Zealand by four wickets on October 22 where Rohit Sharma scored 46 runs and helped the side to secure victory.
- He was impressive during the match against England with 87 runs where India won the match by 100 runs at Ekana Sports City, Lucknow.
- He was sent out with four runs in the match against Sri Lanka on November 02 where the hosts won the match 302 runs.
- Rohit Sharma led India to secure victory against South Africa on November 05 with 243 runs difference where he scored 40 runs.
- He smashed 61 runs during the match against the Netherlands on November 12 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
- During the semi-final match of the ODI World Cup 2023, India won the match by 70 runs where Rohit Sharma scored 47 runs.
- Rohit Sharma smashed 47 runs during the finals against Australia on November 19 where India lost the match by 6 wickets.
Test Career
- Rohit was never considered to be a Test cricketer. Rohit made his Test Debut in November 2013.
- It was the same series when Sachin Tendulkar retired. Sharma made his Test debut at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He scored 177 on his debut match.
- It was the second-best score on debut by an Indian just Shikhar Dhawan’s score of 187.
- He scored another century in the very next match.
- Sharma was however dropped from the Test team due to inconsistency in performance. Later Sharma was selected for the 2018–19 tour of Australia.
- He became a part of the first-ever Indian team to win a test series against Australia on Australian soil.
- Rohit Sharma has played 43 Test matches in which he has scored 3047 runs with an average of 46.88. He has scored one double century, 8 centuries and 14 half-centuries.
- His high score of 212 runs came against South Africa in October 2019.
- After the innings, David Warner said that he believes that Rohit Sharma could be the one to break Brian Lara’s 400* record.
- Rohit Sharma scored his 1st outside India hundred against England on September 4, 2021, which is eventually his 8th overall Test hundred.
- He featured in only two tests during the Sri Lanka tour of India in the year 2022.
- He was part of the Indian squad which played in the test series against Australia in home ground and home away series against West Indies and South Africa.
- He led the side to victory during the test series on England’s tour of India 2024 where the hosts won the series 4-1.
T20 International Career
- When it comes to T20, you can hardly find a complete opener than Rohit Sharma.
- Rohit made his T20 debut for India against England in 2007 ICC World T20 Championships but did not get an opportunity to bat.
- However, he did get an opportunity against South Africa in his second match and took it with both hands.
- Rohit played and scored an unbeaten 50 as India won by 37 runs.
- In the semi-finals against Australia, Sharma made a small cameo at the end of the innings and scored 8* off 5 balls as India won by 15 runs.
- In the finals, Rohit made another late cameo and made a crucial contribution of 30* from 15 balls.
- India won the final by 5 runs. In 2007, Sharma was used predominately as a middle-order batsman coming at number 7 or 8.
- However, under MS Dhoni’s captainship, he has been promoted up the order to open the innings. This change affected not only his T20 career but his ODI career as well.
- He was part of the T20 squad which played in the South Africa tour of India, where he scored his first 106 century in T20I at HPCA Stadium and became the second Indian cricketer to have scored centuries in all three formats of international cricket.
- In December 2017 during a series against Sri Lanka, he scored the joint fastest T20I century in 35 balls and ended in 118 runs from 43 deliveries.
- He was one of the two players who played in every edition of the T20 World Cup from the inaugural edition in 2007 to the 2024 edition and the only Indian player to win two T20 World Cups.
- On July 08, 2018, Rohit Sharma became the second Indian batsman to score 2000 runs after Virat Kohli in T20I and the fifth batsman around the world to achieve the feat. He also scored his third T20I century during the series.
- In November 2018 during the series against West Indies, he scored a fourth T20I century, creating a new record for the most centuries by a player in T20I cricket.
- In November 2019, Rohit Sharma led the side to play in the series against Bangladesh and became the first male cricketer for India to play in 100 T20Is.
- In November 2020, Rohit Sharma was nominated for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade award.
- In July 2022, Rohit Sharma became the first captain in T20I history to lead India to 14 consecutive victories. In October 2022, Rohit Sharma broke the record for most sixes by an Indian batsman in T20 World Cups.
- In June 2024, during the T20 World Cup match against Ireland, Rohit Sharma achieved the milestone of hitting 600 sixes in international cricket across all formats.
- Rohit Sharma captained India during the T20 World Cup 2024 which was played in USA and Caribbean between June 01 and 29.
- In India’s first match of the campaign played against Ireland on June 05, 2024, Rohit Sharma smashed an unbeaten 52* runs helping the side to win the match by 8 wickets.
- During the match against the greatest rivals Pakistan on June 09, he was dismissed for 13 runs. Despite his lesser contribution, India won the match by 6 runs after defending a total of 119.
- During the match against the USA played on June 12, he scored only 3 runs as he was not able to adapt to pitch conditions before being sent out by Netravalkar in the chase 110. Eventually, India won the match by 7 wicket difference.
- During the Super 8 match against Afghanistan played on June 20, Rohit scored only 8 runs when he started the innings after India chose to bat first. Finally, India won the match by 47 runs.
- In the Super 8 match against Bangladesh played on June 22, he scored only 23 runs after Bangladesh chose to bowl first, India posted a score of 196 runs and defended the total, winning the match by 50 runs.
- In the Super 8 match against Australia on June 24, he was impressive smashing 92 runs in 41 deliveries helping the side to set a target of 205 runs, and played a huge role in helping the side to win the match by 24 runs.
- In the Semifinal match against England played on June 27, he kept his momentum smashing his third fifty of the tournament helping the side to post a score of 171 runs. India secured a dominating victory against the defending champions with a 68-run difference.
- During the final match of the T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa, Rohit Sharma scored only 9 runs, but his mastermind helped the side to secure a thriller victory by 7 runs difference.
- Rohit Sharma has announced his T20I retirement after leading India to the title in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Rohit Sharma’s Double Centuries
- Rohit Sharma has 4 double centuries. He is the first and only player to have 3 double centuries in ODI’s.
- He has a double century in test cricket as well, which he achieved against South Africa in 2019.
- His first double-hundred came against Australia in Bengaluru on 2 November 2013.
- The following year, Sharma scored 264 runs against Sri Lanka in Kolkata on 13 November 2014. By doing so, Shama became the highest individual score in ODI.
- His third double-hundred came against Sri Lanka at Mohali on 13 December 2017. He scored 208* and became the first player with three double centuries.
Rohit Sharma Awards
- CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year (2016)
- Arjuna Award (2015)
- Dilip Sardesai Award for Best Indian Cricketer of the Year (2012-13)
- BCCI Special Award for scoring a world record ODI score of 264 (2014)
- ICC ODI Team of the Year: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Rohit Sharma won the Sportsman of the Year award from Indian Sports Honours. (Year – 2019)
- Rohit Sharma was awarded the highest sports honor in the country, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2020.
- Awarded the Golden Bat award for scoring the most number of runs in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Rohit Sharma Records
- Sharma holds the highest individual score of 264 in the ODIs.
- Rohit Sharma has scored 28 centuries in ODIs. Only two Indians ahead of him are Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
- He is the only batsman to score 5 centuries in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
- Rohit holds the unique record of scoring a century with a six in all three formats.
- Sharma has hit the highest number of fours (33) in an ODI match.
- He has broken the record of most runs from fours and sixes in an ODI. He has scored 186 runs via boundaries. Earlier this record was held by Shane Watson.
- Rohit holds the second-highest number of sixes in an ODI- 16.
- Sharma is the only player to score 8 150 plus scores in ODI.
- He is the second-fastest opener in the world as well as the fastest Indian opener to reach 4,000 ODI runs. He took 83 innings.
- Rohit Sharma is the second-fastest opener in the world as well as the fastest Indian opener to reach 5000 ODI runs. He took 102 innings.
- Rohit is the 2nd player to hit 3 consecutive centuries in a World Cup.
- He, along with Sachin holds the records for most centuries in the World Cup- 6.
- Sharma is the joint highest T20I run-scorer- 8944.
- Rohit is the only player to have scored 4 T20I centuries.
- Sharma has hit the most sixes in T20’s- 120.
- He is the 2nd Indian after Suresh Raina to have scored at least a century in all 3 international formats.
- Rohit Sharma is the only Indian to score a T20I century as a captain.
- He also holds the record for having the most number of half-centuries among openers in T20- 19.
- Rohit scored 2442 runs in International cricket in 2019. He went past Sanath Jayasuriya’s 2387 runs for Sri Lanka in 1997.
- He is the second player overall and the first Indian to feature in 100 T20 internationals.
- Third Indian to score Two consecutive centuries in his first two test matches.
