Rohit Sharma is widely regarded as one of the best hitters of the cricket ball in the modern era and his record in all forms of cricket speak volumes of his capabilities. The right-handed batsman is known to hit massive sixes and that too with minimum effort. In fact, his tally of 423 international sixes is third most for any batsman. Courtesy his hitting prowess, the opener is fondly called ‘Hitman’ by his fans. Recently, the talismanic opener himself unveiled the story behind his famous nickname. Rohit revealed that he got the title after he scored his first ODI double century against Australia in 2013. Rohit Sharma Recalls His First ODI Double Century Vs Australia, Says Yuvraj Singh Wanted Me to Break Virender Sehwag’s Record.

The veteran cricketer recalled that a broadcaster named PD first gave him the nickname during the flash interview after his record-breaking knock. “209 when I scored that runs and I was walking back to the pavilion and obviously they called me for that flash interview after the innings got over and I was really very tired. I told the media manager I can’t go now; please take someone else. He said ‘this is kind of a record, you have to come and it goes worldwide and I said okay I’ll come’. I went down and met PD, a broadcaster, who told me ‘Man, you played like a hitman,’ Rohit said when Ravichandran Ashwin asked him to unveil the story behind his nickname during a live Instagram session. Rohit Sharma Reflects on Lessons Learnt During COVID-19 Home Quarantine.

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— N Murali Krishna (@YoYoNmk) May 19, 2020

That’s how it started and then Ravi Bhai was there towards the end of the presentation and he introduced me like that ‘They call him a hitman’. I think I was the man of the series in that tournament so he was interviewing me and he called me “Hitman” and that’s how it started.” The 33-year-old added.

The star batsman didn’t look back after his maiden double-ton as he played one spectacular knock after another and broke several records. He also went on to register two more double centuries after that knock which also includes the highest individual score in ODIs. i.e. 264 Vs Sri Lanka in 2014.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2020 11:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).