Sixes, heartbreaks and trophies: Rohit Sharma's ODI captaincy legacy, in numbers

New Delhi [India], Octobet 5 (ANI): Indian superstar batter's glorious three-year reign as a full-time ODI captain came to a heartbreaking end ahead of Men in Blue's tour to Australia, as his opening partner Shubman Gill took the baton from him and was appointed as the new 50-over format skipper after starting off his Test reign with promise.

Ahead of India's ODI tour to Australia, consisting of three ODIs and five T20Is, the Team India squad list did feature fan-favourites Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, something their die-hard fans were anticipating a lot since their recent Test retirements, but the removal of Rohit from captaincy must have been something that brought to mind a lot of questions, to hearts a sense of reminiscence and nostalgia and perhaps a tear or two in eyes of the fans who watched the 'Hitman' journey from 2011 World Cup snub to the 'almost-there' finish at Ahmedabad, where a powerful Pat Cummins led Australia put an end to India's dominant, record-breaking 10-match win streak at Ahmedabad and denied Rohit his redemption story.

Since first wearing the ODI captaincy armband in 2017, Rohit led India in 56 ODIs, winning a stunning 42, losing just 12, one ending in a no-result, while one ended in a tie. His win percentage of 75 per cent makes him one of the world's best white-ball leaders statistically.

Under Rohit, India secured the 2018 and 2023 ODI Asia Cup, the runners-up position in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at home and the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai this year.

While Rohit's first major win as an ODI captain dates back to 2018, when he won the ODI Asia Cup and contributed 317 runs in five innings, including a century and two fifties at an average of 105.66, the real 'Hitman' magic started when he took over the ODI captaincy in early-2022 when Virat Kohli slowly gave away his all-format captaincy, one format at a time.

From February 2022 onwards, when Rohit started his full-time ODI captain role against the West Indies, Team India won 34 out of 46 matches and lost just 10 under Rohit. One match ended in a no result, while one was tied.

In 46 ODIs, Hitman scored 1,963 runs in 45 matches at an average of 47.87 and a strike rate of 116.84, including three centuries and 15 fifties. During this phase, no player who captained in a minimum of 20 ODIs struck at a better strike rate than Rohit.

In this era, coming to batting averages among captains having led in 20-plus ODIs, Rohit's 47.87 average was third-highest, next to Pakistan's Babar Azam (56.25 in 34 matches) and West Indies' Shai Hope (54.17 in 38 matches). But Babar (86.93) and Hope (95.55) are way too far from Rohit in terms of strike rate.

During his reign as captaincy, the idea and thirst for personal milestones and the idea of preserving one's wicket took a backseat. India's New Zealand blues during ICC events? All it took was him tonking Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry effortlessly during the first 10 overs of the powerplay to wipe the trauma. Semifinals? Finals? The occasion did not matter. Rohit took on the best, in the best way possible, attacking. A crowd of over 1 lakh people at Ahmedabad and likes of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc steaming in to deliver a 140 mph rocket? No problem. All Rohit did was step down and send the ball sailing into the sea of blue with the late elegance only a few in world cricket possessed.

While Rohit could not convert his entertaining 40s into fifties and 60s-70s into centuries, he delivered the impact India was missing in powerplay over all the years. His exploits with opener Shubman Gill delivered India a perfect start and just enough time for star batter Virat Kohli to settle in, tire down the psyche of bowlers with his masterful strike rotation and odd boundaries/sixes in middle overs and let the likes of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer perform their batting pyrotechnics while he was at the crease.

His ODI batting template changed the DNA of Indian batting, which, for long, had frowned upon attacking right from the start, valued the conservation of cricket, and prioritised a steady defence. If likes of Virat could dismantle the opponents with their words, stare and visible aggression, Rohit would do it just with a piece of wood in his hands, and this cocktail of verbal and physical destruction proved too much for his opponets.

In all three major tournaments Rohit played as a full-time ODI captain, he was India's most impactful batter, scoring 971 runs in 21 innings at an average of 48.55, with a stunning strike rate of 116.42, with a century and seven fifties. While Virat took the 'Mr Consistent' title with 1,112 runs in 19 innings at an average of 79.42, with five centuries and seven fifties, he could thank Rohit for the majority of these runs as his fiery starts gave Virat just enough time to settle, assess and attack.

The most standout campaign was the 2023 WC, where he emerged as the second-highest run-getter with 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.94, with a century and three sixes, delivering the best campaign by an opener featuring in 10-plus WC matches during a single edition. He also delivered the most sixes by a player in an ODI World Cup campaign.

Another big occasion Rohit stepped up was during the final of Champions Trophy this year in Dubai. Having failed to convert his starts to something substantial the whole tournament, the 'Hitman' walked away with the 'Player of the Match' medal for scoring a clutch 76 in 83 balls in pursuit of 252 runs against New Zealand.

With Gill having delivered a promising start in Test cricket with a well-fought 2-2 draw against England in the UK and a win at home against West Indies in Ahmedabad today, the onus is on him to replicate the same in ODIs, with seniors Rohit and Virat still present as batters.

Will Gill be able to carry on with Rohit's legacy? (ANI)

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