What do you make of a Test career like the one Rohit Sharma had? There are certainly a lot of peaks to look back on. There is also a sense of ‘what could have been’, as he finishes with a record 4,301 runs in 67 Tests at an average of 40.57. But within those numbers – not outstanding, not mediocre – lies the story of some remarkable innings, triumphs, disappointments and resilience.
Rohit made his debut three years after he was locked in, delayed by a freak ankle injury on the morning of a Test.
He began his career with centuries in each of his first two innings in the middle order.
He resurrected his prospects by shifting from middle-order to opener, a move few have managed successfully before him.
The last sighting of him in India whites was when he stepped down from the playing XI due to his poor form, though he insisted he was not going anywhere.
And now, with a simple Instagram story, he has gone.
From the 2010 mishap to the 2013 debut
Rohit twisted his ankle during the warm-ups on what should have been the morning of his Test debut in February 2010 in Nagpur. Brought in as a replacement for the injured VVS Laxman, Rohit was also forced to sit out, as Wriddhiman Saha made his debut instead.
He eventually had to wait untilSachin Tendulkar’s farewell series in November 2013 to finally get the Test cap. He promptly reeled off 177 and 111* in his first two innings.
What followed was a tough tour on pacy South African pitches, where he left aDale Steyn inswinger that crashed into his middle stump. The road ahead was bumpy for Rohit, and he moved in and out of the Test squad. There were moments of sparkling genius, but they came sporadically.
The 2019 reinvention
With India frequently playing five bowlers, middle-order spots were hard to come by. But there was a vacancy at the top, and then-coachRavi Shastrihad a chat with Rohit about filling it. He had opened in the white-ball cricket, but the red ball was a different ball game. Still, a player of Rohit’s calibre had to be in the XI, and the opening spot became his. And Rohit, the opener, was born.
He began with a home series vs South Africa, and it seemed like he had been doing it forever. He struck centuries in each innings of his first match. In his third, he scored a double-century, and Rohit was away.
For the next four and a half years, until the end of India’s home series against England in 2024, Rohit was inarguably the best opener in Test cricket.
It was a stunning transformation for a player previously in the middle-order. And it came at a time when Test pitches had become more bowler-friendly, and opposing teams fielded deeper attacks. During that period, Rohit was one of just three openers worldwide to average above 50. And Rohit was the highest run-getter among them.
The second table shows how far ahead of the pack Rohit was. While other openers averaged 37.85 in the same matches, Rohit stood taller. He crossed 50 more often and reached triple figures more frequently under the same conditions. And he sustained this across continents and conditions for four and a half years.
That golden run ended with India’s 3-0 series loss at home to New Zealand and an away series loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
But Rohit Sharma should not be judged by how it ended. For four and a half years in an 11-year career, he was the best in the world at what he did. And that is no small achievement.