The Prague Post - 'Hitman' Sharma: Big-hitting leader of India's cricket dreams

EUR -
AED 4.147496
AFN 80.740648
ALL 97.79131
AMD 439.573364
ANG 2.035141
AOA 1033.215877
ARS 1292.959411
AUD 1.759971
AWG 2.035378
AZN 1.919313
BAM 1.942976
BBD 2.279904
BDT 137.193608
BGN 1.954455
BHD 0.425653
BIF 3312.499647
BMD 1.129197
BND 1.457887
BOB 7.803086
BRL 6.489383
BSD 1.129222
BTN 95.655012
BWP 15.311096
BYN 3.695388
BYR 22132.262854
BZD 2.26818
CAD 1.565818
CDF 3246.441141
CHF 0.932863
CLF 0.027854
CLP 1068.897578
CNY 8.158844
CNH 8.170543
COP 4854.305346
CRC 571.466171
CUC 1.129197
CUP 29.923723
CVE 109.98456
CZK 24.903313
DJF 200.681202
DKK 7.460334
DOP 66.509243
DZD 150.009386
EGP 57.227618
ERN 16.937956
ETB 149.788208
FJD 2.559495
FKP 0.846123
GBP 0.850528
GEL 3.110918
GGP 0.846123
GHS 15.074397
GIP 0.846123
GMD 80.728678
GNF 9773.768555
GTQ 8.68766
GYD 236.238563
HKD 8.772789
HNL 29.249006
HRK 7.532768
HTG 147.585709
HUF 405.041848
IDR 18649.028608
ILS 4.043965
IMP 0.846123
INR 96.438794
IQD 1479.248181
IRR 47553.312447
ISK 146.536293
JEP 0.846123
JMD 179.197264
JOD 0.800829
JPY 163.522985
KES 145.948967
KGS 98.748168
KHR 4520.504093
KMF 489.51246
KPW 1016.250524
KRW 1581.383894
KWD 0.346313
KYD 0.94096
KZT 580.983983
LAK 24418.670239
LBP 101174.743346
LKR 338.071121
LRD 225.836436
LSL 20.652092
LTL 3.334225
LVL 0.68304
LYD 6.164314
MAD 10.407111
MDL 19.303049
MGA 5019.281271
MKD 61.591021
MMK 2370.827215
MNT 4035.825338
MOP 9.026324
MRU 44.734742
MUR 51.163583
MVR 17.401286
MWK 1958.024058
MXN 22.120943
MYR 4.829006
MZN 72.183198
NAD 20.653455
NGN 1817.408712
NIO 41.553545
NOK 11.700667
NPR 153.048019
NZD 1.905979
OMR 0.434734
PAB 1.129232
PEN 4.126538
PGK 4.550385
PHP 62.878218
PKR 317.720884
PLN 4.271905
PYG 9024.436999
QAR 4.116431
RON 5.129882
RSD 116.459083
RUB 92.933292
RWF 1622.115831
SAR 4.235358
SBD 9.429754
SCR 16.049283
SDG 678.068906
SEK 10.922311
SGD 1.463993
SHP 0.887372
SLE 25.666542
SLL 23678.679926
SOS 645.283863
SRD 41.575926
STD 23372.099807
SVC 9.879791
SYP 14681.682615
SZL 20.641136
THB 37.069257
TJS 11.715259
TMT 3.963482
TND 3.366698
TOP 2.644699
TRY 43.631276
TTD 7.662932
TWD 34.194915
TZS 3038.669845
UAH 46.79266
UGX 4131.729797
USD 1.129197
UYU 47.277956
UZS 14594.872016
VES 102.867839
VND 29325.248282
VUV 136.227784
WST 2.992029
XAF 651.704682
XAG 0.034856
XAU 0.000338
XCD 3.051711
XDR 0.811497
XOF 650.417174
XPF 119.331742
YER 276.114663
ZAR 20.600185
ZMK 10164.13529
ZMW 30.177097
ZWL 363.601
  • CMSC

    0.1000

    22.16

    +0.45%

  • JRI

    -0.0240

    13.026

    -0.18%

  • RBGPF

    65.8600

    65.86

    +100%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    9.91

    +0.4%

  • RIO

    0.2200

    60.02

    +0.37%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    72.57

    +0.37%

  • GSK

    -0.3300

    37.17

    -0.89%

  • CMSD

    0.1000

    22.41

    +0.45%

  • BCC

    -0.3800

    87.1

    -0.44%

  • RELX

    -0.0600

    54.87

    -0.11%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    10.19

    +0.2%

  • BCE

    -0.3400

    21.25

    -1.6%

  • BTI

    -0.1100

    44.45

    -0.25%

  • VOD

    -0.2700

    9.4

    -2.87%

  • AZN

    -0.1900

    70.07

    -0.27%

  • BP

    -0.2700

    28.13

    -0.96%

'Hitman' Sharma: Big-hitting leader of India's cricket dreams
'Hitman' Sharma: Big-hitting leader of India's cricket dreams / Photo: Money SHARMA - AFP/File

'Hitman' Sharma: Big-hitting leader of India's cricket dreams

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.

Text size:

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".

M.Jelinek--TPP