Rohit Sharma: India Captain, Three ODI Double Centuries Including 264 — The Hitman's Career

Rohit Gurunath Sharma was born on 30 April 1987 in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He is a right-hand opening batsman and occasional right-arm off-break bowler. He made his ODI debut for India in June 2007 against Ireland in Belfast and his Test debut in November 2013 against the West Indies in Kolkata. His early international career was characterised by inconsistency — he had abundant talent but was often dropped and brought back. The turning point came in November 2013 when India sent him to open the batting in the Champions League T20 and then in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series with Australia. In his first ODI innings as an opener against Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore in November 2013, he scored 209 — the first of his three ODI double centuries.

264 vs Sri Lanka — The Highest Individual ODI Score

On 13 November 2014, Rohit Sharma scored 264 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in a One Day International. That innings remains the highest individual score in ODI history. In 173 balls, he scored 264 runs — including 33 sixes (ODI record) and 9 fours. India scored 404 for 5 and won the match by 153 runs. The innings eclipsed his own ODI record of 209 and the previous ODI high score of 219 by Virender Sehwag (also against the West Indies, Indore, December 2011). Rohit reached his hundred, then his double hundred, then continued in a record-breaking fourth-wicket partnership. The 264 included periods of exceptional aggression but was also characterised by risk management — Rohit survived drops and difficult conditions but dominated the Sri Lankan bowling from the start.

Test Career and India Captaincy

Rohit Sharma's Test career was similarly inconsistent until he was promoted to open the batting in the 2019 home series against South Africa. From that point, he averaged over 50 in Tests, including two double centuries at Test level. He became India's T20I captain, then ODI captain, and in early 2022 took over as India's full Test captain following Virat Kohli's decision to step down. Under Rohit, India reached the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 Final (held in India) but lost to Australia by 6 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. He was ranked the number one Test batter in the ICC rankings during 2023-24. He holds the record for most runs in a single T20I World Cup tournament (2019 edition, 224 runs in 5 innings).