OTD in 2011: Rohit Sharma marks his debut for Mumbai Indians

April 10, 2024, marks a special occasion for Mumbai Indians (MI) as they celebrate 13 years since a young Rohit Sharma made his debut for the franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Back in 2011, Rohit, then an up-and-coming batting prodigy, joined MI and has since cemented his status as one of the greatest players to don the iconic blue and gold jersey.

Rohit's journey with MI began on April 10, 2011, as he made his debut against the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Rohit's potential had already caught the eye of the MI management, who showed faith in the talented batter by acquiring him for a sum of $2 million in the IPL mega auction.

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Under Rohit Sharma, MI have lifted five titles

In his debut match, Rohit did not disappoint, playing a crucial role in MI's eight-wicket victory over the opposition. Chasing a modest target of 96, Rohit came in at number four and steadied the innings alongside the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. He remained unbeaten on 27 off 30 balls.

Mumbai Indians celebrated this day and posted a photo of him on their social media handles and captioned it as, "13 years since woh arrived & RO became an integral part of #MumbaiIndians 🥹💙 #MumbaiMeriJaan @ImRo45," the post read.

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In 2013, Rohit was given the responsibility to lead the side, and in his debut season as the skipper of MI, he went on to lift the title. From there the journey went upward as under him, the franchise lifted five titles, making it the joint highest with MS Dhoni-led CSK. Ahead of the ongoing IPL season, Hardik Pandya was handed over the MI captaincy duties from the veteran cricketer.  

Over the years, Rohit has scored 5,159 runs in 202 matches at an average of 29.31 and a formidable strike rate of 130.44 for the franchise. Earlier this year, Rohit also achieved the remarkable feat of playing his 200th match for MI, making him the first player for the franchise to do so.