Indian cricket fraternity extends birthday wishes to skipper Rohit Sharma

NEW DELHI : The Indian cricketing fraternity took to social media to extend birthday wishes to the team’s all-format skipper Rohit Sharma, who turned 37 on Wednesday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to X (formerly Twitter) to extend their wishes to the ‘Hitman’.

“472 intl. matches , 18,820 intl. runs, 48 intl. hundreds Only cricketer to score Three ODI double hundreds Wishing a very Happy Birthday to #TeamIndia Captain Rohit Sharma! @ImRo45,” tweeted BCCI.

The honorary secretary of BCCI, Jay Shah also extended his wishes to the “unstoppable force of Indian cricket”.

“Sending birthday wishes to the unstoppable force of Indian cricket, our captain, @ImRo45! Your leadership, skill, and unyielding spirit are the heartbeat of our team. Here’s to another year of smashing boundaries and making history! Keep shining, Hitman!,” tweeted Shah.

Mumbai Indians (MI), the franchise that has won five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles under the captaincy of Rohit, also wished Rohit and all his fans a “Hitman Day”.

“IT’S HITMAN DAY Happy birthday to the one and only Mr. 45, Rohit Sharma. #MumbaiMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians | @ImRo45,” tweeted MI.

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who was a part of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team and 2011 Cricket World Cup winning sides with Rohit also wrote, “A very happy birthday @ImRo45. Wishing you health and happiness! Stay blessed!”

India’s World Cup winning all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also extended birthday wishes to the “brothaman”.

“Happy birthday brothaman! May happiness and success flow as effortlessly as the big hits from your bat! Loads of love @ImRo45 #HappyBirthdayRohit #RohitSharma,” tweeted Yuvraj.

Mumbai’s domestic cricket giant and former Indian opener also had a creative tweet to wish Rohit on his birthday, writing, “His batting has such a ‘pull’ and so does his personality, no wonder people are easily pulled towards him. Happy birthday @ImRo45, have a great one #HappyBirthdayRohitSharma.”

Widely hailed as one of the best of his generation, Rohit continues to be a star batter for India, particularly in white-ball cricket.

This right-handed batter has entertained and mesmerised audiences worldwide with his classy strokeplay and calm mindset while batting or captaining his side. He is among the best players of Pull shot in the game, often employing it during powerplay overs in white-ball cricket. But there is also a patient and determined side of him visible when he dons the white colours. This versatility makes him a perfect all-format batter of the modern era.

In 2007, Rohit made his debut in international cricket. His first prominent performance that year, at the ICC T20 World Cup 2007, was impressive. In his three matches, he amassed 88 runs and went unbeaten. He made a strong contribution to his team’s victory with a 16-ball 30* against bitter rivals Pakistan in the championship match after opening with a fifty against Ireland.

Since then, this baby-faced youngster has become one of the most lethal willow users in the sport. For the first six years of his career, the batter used to bat in the middle of the order. However, the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, where he had the opportunity to open with Shikhar Dhawan, sent his career graph sharply upward. In the competition, which India won, he amassed 177 runs in five innings at an average of 35.40, including two half-centuries.

A shot at opening the innings was a success and it transformed Rohit into one of the most destructive batters in the modern era. In 262 ODIs, he has scored 10709 runs at an average of 49.12. He has 31 centuries and 55 fifties in the format, with 264 being his best individual score, which is also the best score in ODI cricket history.

He is the 15th-highest scorer in ODI cricket and the sixth-highest run-scorer among Indians, behind MS Dhoni (10599), Rahul Dravid (10,768), Sourav Ganguly (11,221), Virat Kohli (13848) and Sachin Tendulkar (18426 runs). He has the third-highest ODI tons by any player, behind Virat (50) and Sachin (49). He is the only player with three ODI double tons.

Over the years, he has established himself as a reliable test opener too. In 59 matches and 101 innings, he has scored 4137 runs at an average of 45.46 and a strike rate of over 57.05.

Rohit has made an impact in T20 cricket with his captaincy skills. He has won six IPL trophies, making him the most successful IPL player ever. He has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles as skipper (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020), and won one with Deccan Chargers as a player (2009).

On top of that, he is the fourth-highest run-getter in the league’s history, with a total of 6522 runs in 252 matches, 247 innings at an average of 29.92, with two centuries and 42 half-centuries and best score of 109*.

He has been brilliant in T20Is too, scoring 3,974 runs at an average of over 31 in 151 matches, with five centuries and 29 fifties. He has the most centuries in T20 cricket.

In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Rohit had a stunning run as he finished in second place with 597 runs. The ‘Hitman’ is currently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with Mumbai Indians (MI). (ANI)