Rohit sharma career

Playing career:

Sharma made his List A debut for West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy in March 2006, at Gwalior[4]. It was his unbeaten innings of 142 in 123 balls against North Zone at Udaipur in the same tournament[5], that brought him into the limelight[6]. Performances for the India A sides in Abu Dhabi and Australia followed, leading to him being selected for the 30 member probables list for the Champions Trophy[6], although he did not make the final squad. This was before he had made his Ranji Trophy debut[6]. He was also selected for the Challenger Trophy.

First-class:

Sharma at fielding practice.Sharma made his First-class debut for India A against New Zealand A, at Darwin in July 2006[7]. He made his Ranji Trophy debut for his First-class side Mumbai in the 2006/2007 season. Though he was unable to contribute much in the initial matches,[8] he scored 205 off 267 balls in the match against Gujarat.[8]. Mumbai went on to win the tournament with Sharma scoring a 50 in the final against Bengal.[9].

International:
Sharma was first selected for the limited-overs matches on India's tour to Ireland in 2007. He made his One Day International debut against Ireland at Belfast,although he did not bat in the match[10].


Sharma bowling in the nets.Sharma eventually made his mark at the international stage on 20 September 2007, when he led India to victory by scoring an unbeaten 50 (which came off 40 deliveries) against South Africa in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20[11]. The win reserved India a berth in the semifinals of the tournament. At one stage India were 61-4, but his partnership of 85 runs with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped India to post a total of 153-5.[11]. He was eventually declared Man of the Match[11]. Sharma then proceeded to score 30 runs off 16 balls in the final against Pakistan[12].

Sharma scored his maiden ODI half-century against Pakistan, at Jaipur on 18 November 2007[13] and was selected as part of India's 16-man squad for the CB series in Australia[14]. Here, he scored 235 runs at an average of 33.57 with 2 fifties[15], including his score of 66 in the 1st final at Sydney[16].

Indian Premier League:
Sharma was signed up by the Deccan Chargers franchise for a sum of US$ 750,000 a year[17]. He was one of the leading run scorers in the 2008 IPL season with 404 runs at an average of 36.72[18]. He also held the coveted Orange Cap for a brief period.

In the 2009 IPL season he was appointed the vice-captain of the Deccan Chargers. He took a hat-trick against the Mumbai Indians, removing Abhishek Nayar, Harbhajan Singh and JP Duminy. In a match against Kolkata Knight Riders where 21 was required off the last over, Sharma scored 26 off the over from Mashrafe Mortaza to seal a win. He was named the best under-23 player of the tournament.