Rohit Sharma's transformation into a white-ball legend

We all know that Rohit Sharma's career did not have a blockbuster start. He struggled a lot in both - the ODI and T20I format. When Dhoni promoted him to the opening slot in 2013, there was a complete transformation in his game. It was a big help not only for his career but also to the Indian team.

In fact, for the entire Indian limited-overs setup, he turned out to be one of the potential match winners. On the other hand, he scored centuries in the first two innings, but since then he didn't have a great run in Test cricket. This shows that it's not about the start you get, it is about the consistency you show in any form of the sport. The Indian vice- captain's career is a clear example of this. He also had the will power to cope up with all the surrounding criticism when he was consistently failing, but he never lost hope and once he got the right opportunity, he capitalized on it to his full potential.

Let's look at his transformation in three segments in numbers.

#1 2007-2013

The Indian Vice-Captain batted in the middle order early in his career. He struggled a lot to convert the starts into big scores. He was often criticized for throwing his wicket early in the innings. Hence, he did not have great numbers during this period. He managed to score two centuries, that too in 2 consecutive innings. One was against Sri Lanka and the other one against Zimbabwe. Overall, he scored 1978 runs at an average of 30.43 in 81 innings, which is not a great number for any middle order batsman. The Mumbai-based cricketer managed to score only 12 half centuries and recorded eight ducks.

Rohit Sharma scored average runs in T20 internationals too. He managed to score only 531 runs in 28 innings, with five half centuries. During this period, he batted in the middle order in both - the ODIs and T20Is.

#2 2013-2016

Rohit Sharma was getting constant opportunities, but he wasn't delivering a proper game. Many people criticized for having him in the Indian cricket team. That's the time when he was asked to open the innings, and the rest is history. The Indian opener started piling up runs and became the first cricketer to smash two double centuries in the ODI cricket history. Also, he recorded the highest ever ODI score of 264 against Sri Lanka. He scored 2589 runs at an average of 51.78 in 56 innings. It included six centuries and 15 half centuries. Out of the six centuries, he scored 150 runs four times.

Just like his ODI career, even in T20I cricket, he started up as an opening batsman. India hadn't played many T20I matches during this period, but Rohit showed his best whenever he got the opportunity. He scored 336 runs in 9 innings and also become the second Indian after Suresh Raina to score a century in the T20I.

#3 2016-2019

From a struggling cricketer, Rohit Sharma had transformed into one of the best by 2016. The champion batsman slowly started breaking many of the ODI records. He became the only cricketer to score four double centuries in ODI history. The same reflected in T20I cricket, as he became the only cricketer to score four centuries in T20 Internationals. The elegant right-hander also broke Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring most 150+ scores in ODI cricket history.

He is just behind Kohli in the leading run-scorers list with 3241 runs at an average of 66.14, along with 14 centuries, which is the second best in ODI cricket. Rohit scored most T20I runs during this period, with 1459 runs in 48 innings, and all 3 out of his 4 T20I centuries came up during this period.

These numbers clearly sum up the legacy of Rohit Sharma, who has slowly become a white ball legend.