Cricket fraternity sends heartwarming birthday wishes for Rohit Sharma

The cricket fraternity warmly wished Indian captain Rohit Sharma, as the legendary batter turned 37 on Tuesday, April 30.

Rohit is one of the finest batting talents to have emerged from the cricketing powerhouse, India. Having made his international debut against Ireland in an ODI in June 2007, the right-handed batter played some good knocks in the middle order, but his true potential was unlocked after he became India's full-time opener during the ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy 2013.

After playing 262 ODIs, Rohit has amassed 10,709 runs at an average of 49.12 and a strike rate of 91.97. He has registered 55 half-centuries and 31 centuries in the international 50-over format. Rohit is also the only player to have scored three double centuries in ODI cricket. Also, the highest individual score in ODIs belongs to the Mumbai batter. He achieved this feat when he smashed a whopping 264 off 173 balls against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2014.

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Rohit had a phenomenal start to his Test career in 2013, scoring centuries in his first two innings against the West Indies. However, over the next few years, Rohit was guilty of throwing his wicket away after getting good starts. Things changed in 2019, however, when he moved to the top of the innings. The elegant batter became an epitome of consistency and can be proud of the numbers he has already accumulated in red-ball cricket.

After playing 59 Tests, Rohit has aggregated 4,138 runs at an average of 45.47 and scored 17 fifties and 12 tons. His highest score is 212 off 255 balls and it came against South Africa in Ranchi in 2019. This is his only score in excess of 200 in Test cricket.

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Rohit has a better record as a batter in T20I cricket than in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having made his T20I debut against England in India's triumphant 2007 T20 World Cup campaign, Rohit has gone on to play 151 matches and scored 3,974 runs at an average of 31.29 and a strike rate of 139.98. He has scored 29 fifties and five centuries so far in his T20I career. He has hit 190 sixes, which is the most by any player in the shortest format of the game.

Here's how social media users wished Rohit Sharma on his 37th birthday: