Name: Rohit Sharma
Rohit Gurunath Sharma is an Indian international cricketer who is currently the captain of the Indian national cricket team across all formats. He is a right-handed batsman. He holds the most double centuries in ODI cricket, most centuries at Cricket World Cup, and joint most hundreds in Twenty20 Internationals. Rohit Sharma is the first player to score 5 T20I centuries. He formerly captained Mumbai Indians and the team has won 5 titles under him. With India, Sharma was a member of the team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy where he played in the finals of both tournaments. Rohit is one of the players to have played in every edition of the ICC T20 World Cup, from the inaugural edition in 2007 to the latest one in 2002.
In March 2005, Sharma made his List A debut for West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy. He made his first-class debut for India A against New Zealand A at Darwin in July 2006. He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai in the 2006-07 season. Sharma has spent his entire domestic first-class career at Mumbai. In December 2009, he made his highest career score of 309 not out in the Ranji Trophy against Gujarat. In October 2013, he was appointed the team captain ahead of the 2013-14 season.
In November 2013, during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series, Sharma made his Test debut at Eden Gardens in Kolkata against West Indies. Sharma went on the 2018-19 tour of Australia. In October 2019, in the third test against South Africa, Sharma scored his 2000th run and his first double century in Tests. He was named as vice-captain of India’s Test team during the tour of Australia in 2020.
Sharma was appointed captain of India’s Test team in February 2022, succeeding Virat Kohli ahead of a two-match series against Sri Lanka.
In October 2023, during the ICC Cricket World Cup, Sharma was entrusted with the captaincy in a match against Australia. In the same series in a match against Afghanistan, Sharma surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most centuries in World Cup history.
Sharma was included in the Indian squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and made his mark by scoring an unbeaten 50 from 40 deliveries against hosts South Africa in the quarter-finals. In October 2015, during the South Africa tour of India, Sharma scored 106 in the first Twenty20 international in Dharamshala. With that, he became the second cricketer to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket.
In March 2018, he led Team India to win the Nidahas Trophy under his captaincy. In November 2018, in a series against West Indies, he scored his fourth T20I century, creating a new record for the most centuries by a player in T201 cricket.
In November 2019, in the opening match of the series against Bangladesh, Sharma became the most-capped cricketer for India in T20Is, playing his 99th match. In the next match of the series, he became the first male cricketer for India to play in 100 T20Is.
In November 2020, Sharma was nominated for the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade Award.
In July 2022, Sharma became the first captain in T20I history to lead their teams to 14 consecutive victories.
With his participation in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, Sharma became the only Indian cricketer to have played in every edition of the tournament since its inception in 2007.
Sharma joined the Indian Premier League in 2008 when he was signed by the Deccan Chargers franchise based in Hyderabad. In the year 2011, he was sold to Mumbai Indians. Under his leadership, Mumbai has won the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. In 2024, Sharma was sacked as the captain, in favour of Hardik Pandya which marked a massive controversy among the fans.
Sharma became the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2015 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2020.
For his achievements on India’s tour of England in 2021, Sharma was selected by Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in its 2022 edition.