'Hitman' Sharma: Big-Hitting Leader Of India's Cricket Dreams

'Hitman' Sharma: Big-Hitting Leader Of India's Cricket Dreams (Image Source: Twitter)

Rohit Sharma rose from humble beginnings to captain cricket-mad India and redefined Test batting with his ability to score big hundreds as he dominated opposition attacks.

The 38-year-old called time on his Test career on Wednesday after playing 67 matches and scoring 4301 runs including 12 centuries since his debut in 2013.

Rohit quit T20 international cricket in 2024 after lifting the World Cup and earlier this year led India to an ODI Champions Trophy title in Dubai.

He will continue to play the ODI format but his declining batting form in the five-day format prompted his decision to call time on a career divided into two halves.

As a youngster Rohit studied on a scholarship because his family was unable to afford monthly fees of a few dollars.

He overcame all odds to become a cricketing superstar, especially in the white-ball game, his feats including taking his country to World Cup glory in 2024.

He is also the only batsman to have scored three double-centuries in one-day internationals.

Prior to his drop-off in form, Rohit gave India real firepower at the top of the innings and his selfless approach allowed the rest of the batsmen to play freely.

But the man dubbed the "Hitman" for getting to big scores quickly in spectacular style failed to get past 10 runs in any of his five innings during India's tour of Australia late last year.

He described his performances as "disturbing" while there was also mounting criticism about his decisions as captain.

Rohit missed the first Test in Perth for the birth of his second child, with Jasprit Bumrah assuming the captaincy and playing a starring role with the ball in a big India win.

With India trailing 2-1 in the series, vice-captain Bumrah was named to lead the team at the Sydney Cricket Ground as the visitors battled to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Indian media mockingly noted that Rohit's 31 runs in three Tests was only one more than the Bumrah's 30 wickets.

"Rohit, because of captaincy and reputation... managed to hang on longer than he should have," the Times of India wrote.

- 'Hero' -

Rohit was also way below his brilliant best in the 3-0 Test series whitewash at home to New Zealand in November.

Just months before that, he lifted the World Cup in Barbados after India edged out South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final to finally deliver the cricket-crazy nation a global title again.

Rohit signed off as India's highest scorer in the shortest format, plundering 4,231 runs including five centuries in 159 matches since his T20 debut in 2007.

A five-time IPL winner for Mumbai Indians, Rohit took over the captaincy of the white-ball national team in 2021 from Virat Kohli.

A year later, Rohit became Test skipper too.

He left a lasting legacy in the shortest format, having featured in all nine editions of the T20 World Cup.

He was part of M.S. Dhoni's winning team in the inaugural event in 2007, before clinching his second T20 crown 17 years later.

Rohit, who has been criticised for not having the athletic physique of some other players, has also amassed 11,168 runs at an average of over 48 in 273 ODIs.

But his Test record is less prolific as he only came into his own in 2019 when he revived his stop-start five-day career as an opener, hitting 176 and 127 against South Africa in the first Test in Visakhapatnam.

In the third match of the same series in Ranchi, Rohit hit 28 fours and six sixes in a blistering innings of 212 which remained his highest Test score.

However his recent shortcomings have not detracted from Rohit's stature around the world.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan lauded him as the "man who has changed the culture" of the India team -- and a "genuine hero".