OTD 2023: Rohit Sharma became second fastest to 10,000 ODI runs

September 12, 2023, was the day when ace India batter Rohit Sharma wrote his name in the history books, becoming the second-fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs. The skipper achieved the feat against Sri Lanka, and it is worth noting that he reached the milestones in 18 innings fewer than Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit took 241 innings to reach there while ace India batter Virat Kohli, who sits in first place, took just 205 innings to reach mount 10k.

Behind Rohit Sharma sat Tendulkar, who reached the 10,000-run mark in 259 innings. Furthermore, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni occupy the fourth and fifth place, as they took 263 and 273 innings, respectively. 

Rohit's slow start to ODI career

Rohit had a slow start to his ODI career about a decade ago, when he was yet to reach 2000 ODI runs even after playing 80 matches. However, his life changed when he was promoted as an opener. In his first four years as an opener, Rohit scored 3153 runs in 66 innings, with eight centuries to his name. 

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Two of his eight centuries were double hundreds as Rohit continued to make a name for himself at the biggest stage. In the next four years, the star batter truly came into his own and scored 19 hundreds in only 70 innings.

Over the years, Rohit has developed himself as one of the most important players for the Indian team, leading the side for several years. He has led the Men in Blue to the ODI World Cup 2023 final and the historic T20 World Cup 2024 win. Having retired from the shortest format, the 37-year-old continued to leave a mark in ODI and Test cricket. Whenever he chooses to retire, he will retire as arguably one of the greatest batters of the generation.