Rohit Sharma

Talent – an apparently heartening term that has followed Rohit Sharma around like a shadow; even haunted him at times. It seems to be a burden that the cricketing fraternity has enforced upon him and, after more than a decade in the national setting, he has been weighed down by the label.

Harsha Bhogle spoke of whispers in the domestic circuit; of coaches and scouts spotting the effortless, free-flowing stroke-play of a Mumbai teenager. Having cruised through first-class cricket, with an average well above 50, he shot to the limelight when he scored a brisk unbeaten triple-hundred at the Ranji level.

It all began after an injury to an in-form Yuvraj Singh in the 2007 World T20, when Rohit was called upon as a last-minute emergency replacement to play a league game against the hosts. After a lacklustre start to the Indian innings, the 20-year-old strode out into Kingsmead and stroked his way to a fluent half-century against the likes of Pollock, Ntini and Morkel as though he were having a net session. He showed startling maturity under pressure to survive till the end of the innings, escorting India to a respectable total that they ultimately defended, knocking South Africa out of the tournament in their own backyard.