Indian captain Rohit Sharma hogged the limelight after he created multiple records as an opener in international cricket. Hitman debuted for India when Indian cricket had already ‘established superstars’ with all bases covered.
He began his cricketing venture by operating in the middle order. MS Dhoni was not a big fan of Rohit Sharma batting at No.6 because the latter was not getting enough opportunities to express himself, considering the tough competition in the team.
The then India’s think-tank was well aware of Rohit’s potential to cut and pull and rightly so, Rohit got the license to open the innings. It is a no-brainer that the natural stroke player’s career underwent significant transformation ever since he started as an opener.
He grabbed the opportunity in both hands and earned a reputation as one of the best openers across all three formats of the game. Let’s now take a glimpse at the multiple records created by Rohit Sharma as an opener in the international circuit.
1. Rohit Sharma goes past Chris Gayle
Ahead of the five-match Test series against England, Rohit Sharma’s international century tally was 41, on par with Sanath Jayasuriya (41). The veteran hit a century in the third Test in Rajkot to go past the Sri Lankan legend and equalled Chris Gayle’s tally (42).
Rohit scored another century in the fifth Test in Dharamshala to go past Gayle to become the third leading century-maker among the openers in international cricket. Hitman is only behind David Warner (49) and Sachin Tendulkar (45).
2. Rohit Sharma equals Rahul Dravid’s century tally
The Mumbai-born cricketer smashed his 48th international century in the first innings of the fifth Test against England in Dharamshala.
In the process, he equaled Rahul Dravid’s overall century tally to become the third joint-most century-scorer as an Indian batter in international cricket. Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli top the list with 100 and 80 centuries respectively.
3. Rohit Sharma leads the list with most Test tons for India in 2021
The likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, and Rohit have been leading the batting attack by example in the last three years.
Notably, Rohit tops the list in terms of smacking the most Test centuries for India since 2021 with six centuries to his credit, with Shubman Gill placed second on the list with 4 tons.
4. Rohit Sharma equals Sunil Gavaskar’s record in Tests
The Indian skipper made the headlines after he equalled Sunil Gavaskar’s record for scoring the most Test centuries as an Indian opener against England.
Gavaskar scored four Test tons against England as an opener and Rohit equalled the feat with his ton against England in the Dharamshala Test. Vijay Merchant, Murali Vijay, and KL Rahul follow next on the list with 3 Test tons apiece.