"Taught us how to fight back when people write you off!" - Fans celebrate 15 glittering years of Rohit Sharma's international career

15 years ago, a youngster by the name of Rohit Sharma made his international debut for India on this day in an ODI against Ireland. Having shown a lot of promise in domestic cricket, big things were destined for the youngster.

Although success didn't come easily for Rohit initially, he has shown the will to work hard and has eventually justified his talent with consistency.

The 35-year-old was always looked at as someone who had a lot of potential. But then he transformed himself into a run-machine and became one of the greatest India has ever produced.

Fans on Twitter hailed Rohit Sharma for his contribution to international cricket over the last 15 years and are hopeful that the Indian captain will keep going strong for many more years to come. Here are some of the reactions:

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Rohit Sharma transformed himself after being ignored for 2011 World Cup

The 2007 T20 World Cup was where Rohit Sharma initially made his name, playing impactful knocks first against South Africa and then in the final against Pakistan. He was someone who used to come down the order and play these handy cameos.

Rohit quickly became an important part of the Deccan Chargers in the IPL and also won the Emerging Player of the Tournament award in 2009.

India then failed miserably in the 2010 T20 World Cup. But his half-century against Australia showed that he was not someone who would be bullied by short-pitched bowling.

Rohit Sharma scored his maiden ODI hundred against Zimbabwe that year and it looked like he would make it to the 2011 World Cup squad. However, his form dipped and he was shattered to miss out on a golden opportunity.

Sharma was in and out of the side until the 2013 Champions Trophy, where MS Dhoni asked him to open the innings and he hasn't looked back ever since. His five centuries in the 2019 World Cup and three ODI double hundreds are a statement that he is one of the best openers India has ever produced.

That same year, Rohit also started opening India's innings in Test cricket and that's when he became a regular across formats for the team. From not being picked for the 2018 England Test tour to being India's captain on the same tour four years later, Rohit has indeed come a long way.