It was at the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 when Rohit Sharma was made a permanent opener under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Rohit wasn’t having a successful stint as a middle-order batter, averaging just around 30 after 123 matches. But his two back-to-back fifties against South Africa and the West Indies changed Rohit’s career upside down. He took the opening role like a duck to water and became one of India’s best-ever white-ball players ever. Now, just before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the Indian captain has ended a horrendous slump and has even broken a stupendous record that too, as an opener.
Which record did Rohit Sharma break of Sachin Tendulkar?
The Cuttack crowd saw an incredible show by Rohit Sharma, who put behind his poor form to dazzle a 30-ball fifty. It was his maiden half-century in four months, 114 days to be precise. As an opener, Rohit has built a habit of giving India rollicking starts and it is his fearless nature of batting that has made him a dynamite in the format. Just when Rohit reached his 50-run figure, he broke his idol, Sachin Tendulkar’s, incredible record.
Tendulkar, who is touted as the best batter of all time, played 782 knocks for India across formats. However, it was 342 times that he opened for the nation. In those innings, the Little Master mustered 15,335 runs, which was the second-most by any Indian batter. But as soon as Rohit reached his fifty, he surpassed Tendulkar, becoming India’s opener with the second-most runs. Rohit, who has now opened 368 times, has hammered 15374 runs at the time of writing. Note: Rohit has never gotten an opportunity to open an innings with Tendulkar.
Virender Sehwag, with 15,758 runs, is at the top of the list. A few more classy innings like Cuttack and the Hitman would surely end his career as the most successful opener of all time!
Most runs for India as an opener (all-formats)
| Player | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virender Sehwag | 388 | 15758 | 319 | 41.90 | 36 | 65 |
| Rohit Sharma | 368 | 15364 | 264 | 45.45 | 43 | 80 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 342 | 15335 | 200* | 48.07 | 45 | 75 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 286 | 12258 | 221 | 46.08 | 34 | 67 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 288 | 10867 | 190 | 39.66 | 24 | 55 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 237 | 9157 | 183 | 41.43 | 19 | 58 |
