From Heartbreak to Hope: The Years That Tested Rohit Sharma
2013, a year that felt like a reset button for Indian cricket. The golden generation was slowly phasing out. Sehwag and Gambhir were no longer the first-choice openers. India’s top-order in ODIs looked unsettled, uncertain, almost, incomplete. The middle-order was stacked with stars, but at the top, India needed stability, composure, and someone who could bat long.
And that’s when MS Dhoni pulled a move only he could’ve thought of, he promoted Rohit Sharma to open the innings, he saw something the rest of us couldn’t. He saw Rohit’s timing, his calmness, his ability to pace an innings. Maybe he believed that all Rohit needed was time and what better way to give him time than let him face the very first ball.
And the timing of this move couldn’t have been more crucial. India was set to play the Champions Trophy in England, and the batting lineup needed a shake-up. Dhawan was returning. Kohli was in form. But they needed an anchor, someone who could build, rotate, and explode when needed. And in Rohit, Dhoni found that man.
I still remember that day in early 2011. The ODI World Cup squad was announced, and every cricket fan in India was buzzing with excitement. But my heart sank when I scanned the 15 names. No Rohit Sharma. No “Hitman”. It felt like a punch in the gut, like the silence after a well-timed cover drive that didn’t reach the boundary.
The omission was shocking. Rohit had been a part of India’s white-ball setup since 2007, with flashes of brilliance that made you sit up and take notice. Remember his 50 against South Africa in the inaugural T20 World Cup or his calm presence during tense chases? Yet when it mattered the most, he was overlooked. Critics pointed to inconsistency. Fans debated endlessly on forums and social media. And Rohit, he stayed quiet. But as fans, we knew he must’ve been hurting.
What followed wasn’t a fairy-tale comeback at least, not immediately. The next two years were full of starts and stops. He would score a 70 one game and follow it with a string of low scores. Doubts grew louder. Was he just another ‘talent wasted’? Was he unable to handle pressure? Even we, his biggest supporters, were running out of answers but never out of hope.
The Opening That Changed Everything (thank you, Mahi)
2013, a year that felt like a reset button for Indian cricket. The golden generation was slowly phasing out. Sehwag and Gambhir were no longer the first-choice openers. India’s top-order in ODIs looked unsettled, uncertain, almost, incomplete. The middle-order was stacked with stars, but at the top, India needed stability, composure, and someone who could bat long.
And that’s when MS Dhoni pulled a move only he could’ve thought of, he promoted Rohit Sharma to open the innings, he saw something the rest of us couldn’t. He saw Rohit’s timing, his calmness, his ability to pace an innings. Maybe he believed that all Rohit needed was time and what better way to give him time than let him face the very first ball.
And the timing of this move couldn’t have been more crucial. India was set to play the Champions Trophy in England, and the batting lineup needed a shake-up. Dhawan was returning. Kohli was in form. But they needed an anchor, someone who could build, rotate, and explode when needed. And in Rohit, Dhoni found that man.
As the Champions Trophy began, Rohit didn’t just carry that confidence forward he built on it. Against South Africa in the opening game, he scored 65, giving India a strong start. Then came a solid 52 against the West Indies, followed by another composed 33 against Sri Lanka. It wasn’t about hitting the most sixes or finishing with a strike rate of 150, it was about doing the job. Setting the platform. Rotating the strike. Building partnerships. Each innings was a statement quiet, measured, and selfless. For the first time, Rohit wasn’t chasing form he was in control of it. And for us fans who’d waited years for this version of him, it was like watching a promise finally being kept.
By the end of the Champions Trophy, India was unbeaten. And a huge part of that was the new opening pair Dhawan and Rohit, who had brought calm to the chaos India once had at the top.
The Explosion: From Control to Carnage
By the end of the Champions Trophy 2013, Rohit Sharma wasn’t just an experiment at the top, he was a revelation. India had found its opener. But what came next none of us were ready for it.
That calm composed version we had seen in England suddenly evolved and the transformation was unreal. Now he wasn’t just building innings, he was demolishing attacks. The timing was still silken, the elegance untouched, but it came with a new-found hunger to dominate. And then, on November 2nd, 2013, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, it all came together in a way we had never seen before.
209, yes, two hundred and nine runs in a single ODI innings against Australia, no less. I still remember watching it, heart pounding, jaw dropping, trying to process what I was witnessing. Rohit started slow, played himself in, like always. But once he settled, It was chaos. He unleashed 12 fours and 16 sixes “SIXTEEN” which was then a world record. It was a storm disguised in serenity. There was no slogging. Just clean, controlled destruction.
What made it even more special was the context. India was 2–1 up in the seven-match series. Rohit had already been scoring runs consistently in the earlier games a 141* in Jaipur and 79 in Nagpur, but this 209 felt like a warning to the world: The Hitman has arrived. For real.
As a fan, I had waited for this moment for years. I had defended him in countless debates, believed in him through the low scores and lost opportunities. And now, seeing him standing tall with a double century, it felt personal. Like all those years of faith were finally being rewarded.
Rohit wasn’t just filling a vacant opener’s slot anymore; he was redefining what an ODI opener could be.
Redefining the Legacy
Looking back now, it’s almost poetic, how a single decision in 2013 reshaped an entire career.
Rohit Sharma’s promotion to opener wasn’t just a tactical shift. It was a turning point. It unlocked the version of Rohit the world had only glimpsed in flashes, the version we, as fans, always believed existed. He went from being a “wasted talent” to a modern-day giant. From the guy who missed the 2011 World Cup squad to becoming the only player in history with three ODI double centuries. Let that sink in.
The numbers speak for themselves. Over 10,000 runs in ODIs. Dozens of centuries. Countless match-winning partnerships. But more than stats, it was the way he did it: calm, elegant, effortless destruction. A rare artist in a game obsessed with numbers.
And the journey didn’t stop there.
Today, Rohit Sharma isn’t just India’s premier opener, he’s also celebrated as the captain who led a cricketing renaissance. A leader who inspired with calmness, led with humility, and carried the weight of a billion dreams with grace. Under his captaincy, India didn’t just reach finals, they won them. From lifting the T20 World Cup in 2024 to conquering the Champions Trophy in 2025, Rohit gave Indian fans the ultimate joy, world titles that ended long waits.
Though he may have passed on the leadership baton, he continues to don the Indian jersey with pride, opening the innings with the same poise and purpose he discovered back in 2013. His influence remains deeply rooted in the way this team plays, in the mindset of the younger players, and in the belief he instilled in millions of fans. The boy who once couldn’t find a place in the XI is now the legend still carrying the torch.
For us fans, it has been an emotional rollercoaster. We’ve seen the lows, the missed chances, the criticisms, the injuries. And we’ve seen the highs, the double hundreds, the applause, the headlines, the captaincy. But through it all, one thing stayed constant: our belief.
Watching Rohit bat today still feels like watching poetry in motion. But now, it comes with pride. Because we know the story. We’ve lived the journey. We remember 2011. And that’s what makes 2013 and everything after so much sweeter.
That promotion to opener wasn’t just a role change.
It was the moment Rohit Sharma found himself.
And in doing so, he gave his fans a story worth holding on to, forever.
At BlueFever, cricket isn’t content. It’s culture. It’s memory. It’s emotion.
We don’t scroll past it. We sit with it. We relive it ball by ball, roar by roar.
We know what Eden felt like when Rohit touched 264.
We remember the silence when Sachin walked out for the last time.
We’ve lived the heartbreaks. And we’ve screamed through the highs.
If you’re someone who still gets goosebumps hearing “Dhoni finishes off in style…”
If a dusty old highlight reel feels like a time machine
If Team India is your forever emotion
Then you’re one of us.
Follow BlueFever. Let’s celebrate cricket the way it deserves to be.
Not as a game. But as a legacy.
Because.. #WeCelebrateCricket
Reference:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/icc-world-cup-2011-no-rohit-sharma-in-world-cup-squad-497102
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/dhoni-asked-me-to-open-changed-my-career-rohit-sharma-1076965
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/rohit-sharma-happy-with-new-role-as-opener-670685