Rohit Sharma- The Everlasting Big Brother of the Indian Team

When Rohit Sharma came into the T20I team he was still a talent who had a jaw-dropping sense of timing. His young peers were often in awe of all his talent, with Rohit Sharma appearing to have all the timing in the World against pace. His talent was on show quickly with Rohit Sharma showing that he can handle pressure just as well. He did in the 2007 T20 World Cup with his maiden 50 against South Africa in a virtual Quarter-Final. He also had a 30 in the Final against Pakistan which turned out to be a huge factor in their five-run win.

His batting talent was clear. In 2010, Rohit Sharma played an innings which will still be remembered as one of his best, but in a losing cause. The innings, incidentally in Bridgetown back then came against Australia with a daunting target on hand. Rohit Sharma walked in with India chasing 185. Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson were walking through the Indian line-up. Rohit Sharma though displayed an incredible innings against pace, showing why his pull shot was his favorite with six hits to the fence in a knock of 79. India lost, but Rohit Sharma won lots of hearts.

Rohit Sharma‘s career though became one of desperation going forward. As a batter he had it all with double centuries in ODIs and Test Cricket. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2019 World Cup. As a captain he had numbers in franchise cricket which would make anyone envy him. With five IPL Trophies and a Champions League under is belt it was all there for him.

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Success as an established player with the national team eluded him. His captaincy had him lose two Finals in the last year and and a heartbreaking semi-final loss in 2022. The writing was on the wall for him in T20 Cricket with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli briefly dropped and out of the set-up. Rohit Sharma though, the leader who his teammates looked up to was given another opportunity. He took it with both hands scoring a century against Afghanistan earlier in the year.

In the T20 World Cup as well, Rohit Sharma put the team in front and was absolutely on another plane. Announcing himself once against Australia, Rohit Sharma provided another defining innings of 92 off 41, which deflated their attack.

More than his batting though it was his captaincy which has been a stand out. As a leader, Rohit Sharma displayed a persona of being easy to approach with a casual mentality. As a tactician too Rohit Sharma proved that the game isn’t over until its over. Against Pakistan the game was drifting a way similarly. Rohit Sharma though held Bumrah back and used him perfectly to get the game back.

In the IPL, he has won 3 Finals defending under 150, with bowlers given the rope to try their tricks under him. The Final was a perfect example of what his captaincy looks like. Once again, the game was drifting away and seemingly gone with 30 needed off 30. A question of whether Bumrah was being held back to late came in. Rohit Sharma though, with his hand forced this time had to bring Bumrah on and he helped stem the momentum with a really tight over. The trump card worked and Hardik Pandya reaped the reward the next over. With Klaasen gone, it was bowling at its best as Rohit Sharma went through Bumrah’s and Arshdeep Singh’s overs.

The game was firmly back in India’s hand with Hardik Pandya being the trusted choice. He defended a score in the Final again, as India won a game that they were nowhere close to winning. The heartbreak of 2023 was buried as Rohit Sharma sank to the ground. His long-time senior partner, Virat Kohli was with him again. With the T20 World Cup achieved though, both of them did what was almost done to them in 2022. After being dropped and coming back to win the trophy the duo now retires from the shortest format with a lot to offer in the longer ones.

The duo leave a gap to be filled now. In Virat Kohli, a batter who brings fear to the opposition. In Rohit Sharma a quick starter, a cool character and a captain with some nice tactics and easy to approach mentality.