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What's the news?
Rohit Sharma has spoken out about the origin of his popular nickname 'Hitman', saying he heard it for the first time a few years ago from a TV production crew member.
In case you didn't know...
Ever since Rohit's promotion to the opener's slot that led to a career resurgence, the right-hander has regularly thrilled spectators with his ability to smack sixes at will. He is fondly called 'Hitman' by both fans and commentators for his big hitting capabilities.
This is a sea change form his earlier nickname 'Maggi Man', which he earned because he often lasted less than two minutes at the crease.
The heart of the matter
Rohit, the captain of the Mumbai Indians team in the IPL, was participating in an exercise conducted by the team where he had to answer the most popular questions about him on social media. Unsurprisingly, one of the questions was about the reason behind his nickname. The right-handed batsman seemed to be expecting that question as he had the answer ready.
He said that his nickname makes sense because it includes the word 'hit' (the last three letters of his first name) and 'man'. Then Rohit narrated a conversation he had with a person named 'PD', who was working in the Star Sports production house.
"You are the hitman of this Indian cricket team," that crew member had said after Rohit scored his first double hundred against Australia, back in 2013.
Rohit further said that the nickname was picked up from PD by a few commentators and was soon spoken on the air, which eventually led to it becoming so widespread.
Rohit also revealed a few other things about himself in the video, including his favorite football player (Zinedine Zidane) and favorite food (home-cooked food in general, and Japanese food when he's traveling).
What's next?
Rohit is preparing for the all-important ICC World Cup 2019, along with the rest of the Indian team. The fans in India would be hoping that 'Hitman' can score some big centuries in England and help the team win the tournament.
Also read - World cup ties
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