Rohit Sharma reveals origin of nickname “Hitman”

What's the story?

India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has revealed how the name “Hitman” ended up being his unofficial nickname, in an interview with India Today.

“It happened in 2013 when I was playing against Australia in Bangalore,” the 30-year-old recalled, when he hit his first ODI double hundred.

In case you didn't know..

Rohit, standing in as the ODI and T20 captain for Virat Kohli during the recently-concluded limited-overs matches against Sri Lanka, bashed his third ODI double hundred – a world record – and also his second T20 international century. It was after these knocks that the nickname “Hitman” became popular, taking social media by storm.

The heart of the matter

In an interview to India Today, Rohit discussed how the name may have first cropped up.

"Ravi bhai [Shastri] was commenting and there is a guy called PD in the crew, he said after the game that 'you played like a Hitman' because my name is Ro-'Hit'. Ravi was standing there, heard it and said it during commentary. I think it caught up like that," he said

What's next?

India's next limited-overs assignments are on the upcoming tour of South Africa, where, after the three Tests, they play 6 ODIs and 3 T20s. With Kohli returning as captain, Rohit would play only as an opening batsman.

Author's Take

Despite a poor record in ODIs in South Africa, where he averages a lowly 12.29 and has a highest score of only 23, it is expected that Rohit “Hitman” Sharma can replicate his recent form against Sri Lanka. If he can find a similar touch, we can be assured of yet another big knock from him.