A timely biography

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The Hitman

The Rohit Sharma Story

Vijay Lokapally and G Krishnan

Bloomsbury

Rs 499

Pages 191

Rohit Mahajan

Rohit Sharma, probably the most talented Indian batsman to emerge after the year 2000, is treading the path on which walked Yuvraj Singh not long before him. Yuvraj wanted to excel in Test cricket — that’s where you earn the respect of your peers. Yuvraj’s wish remained unfulfilled, but he did become the first player from India to be acknowledged as an all-time great on the basis of ODI performances only.

Sharma is already hailed by many as an Indian legend — on the basis of his feats in ODIs and the IPL. This timely biography of the 33-year-old superstar tells his story.

It’s an extraordinary tale — related here in the manner of a paean, unabashedly laudatory — of opportunities created by his talent and labour; an inspiring story of a kid whose school fee was waived because his family couldn’t afford it, who now dines with the rich and the mighty of Mumbai, drives expensive cars and owns several houses.

The core of this book — paltry though it is, comprising only 143 pages, excluding the statistical appendix — is a faithful documentation of his cricketing exploits, match after match, quoting at length him and others from post-match interviews.

The story is most personal when his friends Manoj Tiwary and Abhishek Nayar, or his childhood coach Dinesh Lad, talk about his growth as a cricketer and a person.

Yet, in this narration of matches and events, the essence of a biography — a candid, accurate look at the subject — seems absent.

Sharma was only 20 when the IPL arrived; he belonged to the first-ever generation of Indian cricketers who became multi-millionaires at 20, or even younger. In the absence of proper mentoring by the BCCI, the sudden riches nearly derailed Sharma — he acquired a reputation of a party animal, put on weight and, as Herschelle Gibbs wrote, gained the reputation of a solid drinker. Out of the national team, Sharma was on the brink. Coming back from the edge, goaded by his loyal friends, who would wake him up early, make him run up and down the stairs, is the most extraordinary story of his life — which this book omits. The effect of his ‘partying’ on his cricket isn’t explored — perhaps it’s due to the diffidence of a journalist not wishing to delve into the personal life of a sportsperson, but beating adversity is heroic, not embarrassing.

Sharma, who is in his 34th year, averages 25.36 in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Time is running out for him to become a Test great. His fans are content with his IPL trophies, and he recently put club over country when he opted to play on in the IPL with an injury that, according to Sourav Ganguly, is quite serious. He’s got three double-centuries in ODIs, but it’s in his Mumbai Indians shirt — sponsors’ logos and all — that he appears on the book cover. A quarter of the book is about him at the IPL. There’s a whole chapter about his fans. Implicitly, the writers give their nod to pop over classical. Twelve years of IPL have transformed cricketers and its story-tellers.

Sharma’s story is incomplete yet, and maybe he’ll play 40 Tests more, as Yuvraj wishes in the foreword. Perhaps, there will be another edition of this biography — hopefully more up-close, and with better editing.