Rohit Sharma (born April 30, 1987, Bansod, India) is an Indian international cricketer and the current captain of the Indian cricket team in the Test and One-Day International (ODI) formats. Sharma was also the captain of India’s Twenty20 International team until he announced his retirement on June 29, 2024, after leading the Indian side to its T20I World Cup victory. He captained the Mumbai Indians, a franchise team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), for 10 years and led them to five titles. Sharma is known for his batting prowess and is nicknamed “Hitman” by his fans. He is also an occasional off-spinner.

Sharma is the only player to have scored three double hundreds in ODI cricket; no other player has scored even two. He also holds the record for most international sixes across all formats, most sixes in World Cups, and the highest individual score in an ODI. He was a member of the Indian sides that won the 2007 T20I World Cup, the 2013 ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy, and the 2024 T20I World Cup. Encyclopedia Britannica

News • India beat England by four wickets in second ODI to seal series victory – as it happened • Feb. 10, 2025, 12:48 AM ET (The Guardian) 

Rohit Sharma (born April 30, 1987, Bansod, India) is an Indian international cricketer and the current captain of the Indian cricket team in the Test and One-Day International (ODI) formats. Sharma was also the captain of India’s Twenty20 International team until he announced his retirement on June 29, 2024, after leading the Indian side to its T20I World Cup victory. He captained the Mumbai Indians, a franchise team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), for 10 years and led them to five titles. Sharma is known for his batting prowess and is nicknamed “Hitman” by his fans. He is also an occasional off-spinner.

Sharma is the only player to have scored three double hundreds in ODI cricket; no other player has scored even two. He also holds the record for most international sixes across all formats, most sixes in World Cups, and the highest individual score in an ODI. He was a member of the Indian sides that won the 2007 T20I World Cup, the 2013 ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy, and the 2024 T20I World Cup.

Quick Facts

In full: Rohit Gurunath Sharma

Born: April 30, 1987, Bansod, India (age 37)

Early life and career

Sharma was born on April 30, 1987, in Bansod, Nagpur, in the state of Maharashtra, India. He first joined a cricket camp in 1999, when coach Dinesh Lad, a friend of his uncle’s, noticed his talent. Lad used to scout for talent in those days and was very impressed with the way Sharma bowled. Knowing that Sharma’s uncle would not be able to afford the fees for the school where Lad was coach, Lad convinced the school’s director to accept Sharma as a student and waive his entire fee so that he would have access to good training facilities. Sharma started off as a spinner before focusing on batting.

Sharma made his senior-level debut in a List A game in 2006, scoring an unbeaten 31 for West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy. His run of scores in the tournament got him picked for the India A squad, and he made his first-class debut for India Athat team against New Zealand at Darwin later in 2006, scoring 57 and 22, respectively. India achieved a 3-wicket win over New Zealand. He subsequently made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai, one of the leading (and hard to break into) teams in the Indian domestic circuit, in the 2006–07 season and impressed with a double hundred while playing against Gujarat, as well as a half-century in a winning cause in the final that year. Sharma has gone on to represent Mumbai throughout his first-class career.

Indian Premier League

Sharma joined the IPL in 2008 and was signed on by the now-defunct franchise Deccan Chargers, based in Hyderabad, for $750,000 a year. He was part of the Deccan Chargers that won the second edition of the IPL in 2009. He took a hat-trick against the Mumbai Indians that year with his part-time off-spin.

In the 2011 IPL auction, Sharma joined the Mumbai Indians for $2 million and scored his first and only IPL century that year. He was appointed captain of the Mumbai Indians in 2013 and led them to five titles (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020). He also led them to the Champions League T20 title in 2013. Sharma captained the Mumbai Indians until December 2023 and has been retained by them in all auctions since 2011. He is noted for his calm demeanor and tactical acumen on the field.

International career

Sharma’s international career kicked off with an ODI match against Ireland at Belfast in June 2007, when he took one catch but did not get a chance to bat or bowl. His T20I debut was later the same year, in the group game against England in the first T20I World Cup. Again, he didn’t get a chance to bat or bowl but took one catch, in a match remembered for Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over. Sharma was Player of the Match in the quarterfinals against South Africa. He was also part of the team that won the T20I World Cup final, scoring a quick 30, the second highest score for India.