Rohit Sharma pens heartfelt note on completing 15 years in international cricket

India captain Rohit Sharma shared a heartwarming note on social media as he completes 15 years in international cricket on Thursday. It was on June 23, 2007 that Rohit made his India debut, during an ODI against Ireland in Belfast. A young Rohit, who did not get to bat in the match, went on to become one of the most successful limited-overs batters of all-time, having piled over 12,000 runs in ODIs and T20Is. As Rohit is expected to turn up for India in their four-day practice match for Leicestershire, the India captain had the following so say.

"Hello everyone. Today I'll be completing 15 years of international cricket since I made my debut for India. What a journey it has been, surely one that I'll cherish for the rest of my life," Rohit stated in a note on Twitter.

"I just want to thank everyone who has been a part of this journey and a special thanks to the people who helped me become the player that I am today. To all the cricket lovers, fans and critics, your love and support for the team is what gets us over those hurdles we all inevitably come across."

With over 15,000 runs, Rohit is one the India's finest batters of all time. However, the first half of his international career wasn't as successful as the next. After being part of India's 2007 T20 World Cup campaign, form and fitness woes saw Rohit getting sidelined from the set-up, forcing him to miss the 2011 World Cup. The inconsistency and the up and down patter on his career graph continue until 2013 before Rohit's career took a new turn.

Promoted as an opener in 2013 Champions Trophy, Rohit found his mojo and his limited-overs career took off. He scored his maiden ODI double century in 2013, followed by a second the following year when he struck 264 vs Sri Lanka. Three years later, Rohit became the only batter to hit three ODI double centuries as his career went from one high to another. In the 2019 World Cup, Rohit struck five centuries, the most by any batter in a single edition of a WC, for which he was named the ICC Player of the year.

An Arjuna award winner in 2015, Rohit won the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award in 2020. Stepping in as a stand-in captain, Rohit led India to the Asia Cup win and Nidahas Trophy triumph in 2018. In November of 2020, Rohit was named the captain of the India team across formats, taking over the post from Virat Kohli. He is yet to suffer a loss since becoming India's full-time captain.

In September, Rohit was promoted as an opener in Tests, and like his ODI run, Sharma's Test career witnessed a spike as well. Rohit peeled off twin centuries against South Africa in his first game as Test opener and followed it with a double-century two matches later. After dominating at home, Rohit registered his maiden overseas Test century, scoring 127 against England at Oval in a match-winning effort last year.