The Rise of the Hitman

From his Under-17 days, Rohit Sharma was earmarked as one for the future. Blessed with loads of natural ability and inherently attractive, he made batting look very easy. Fusing the Mumbai school of batsmanship with organic flair, he broke into the Indian team when only 20 and immediately impressed during the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 and in the triangular series in Australia in 2008. There were disappointments, too, along the way. On the morning of his Test debut, he sustained an ankle injury in February 2010 and had to wait until November 2013 to earn his Test cap. He was also left out of the Indian squad that triumphed in the 50-over World Cup at home in 2011.