Rohit Sharma made cricket history on Sunday by playing his 500th international match for India during the first ODI against Australia in Perth. (BCCI photo) NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma made cricket history on Sunday by playing his 500th international match for India during the first ODI against Australia in Perth. At the age of 38, he became only the fifth Indian to achieve this remarkable milestone, joining legends Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid. Globally, Rohit is the 11th player to reach 500 international appearances.Rohit’s illustrious career spans all three formats, comprising 273 ODIs, 67 Tests and 159 T20Is. He also holds the record for the most T20I appearances for India, highlighting his impact in the shortest format. In the list of all international matches, Sachin Tendulkar leads with 664 games (463 ODIs, 200 Tests, 1 T20I), followed by Mahela Jayawardene (652), Kumar Sangakkara (594) and other cricket greats like Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky, MS Dilling, Shahidi Kohli. Afridi, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid. Rohit’s 500 matches places him firmly among the elite of world cricket.
‘There’s a story going on outside, but…’: Shubman Gill opens up on alleged tension with Rohit Sharma
With this milestone, Rohit is chasing another record – the most sixes in ODI cricket. With 344 sixes, he is just seven short of Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and needs just eight more to become the leading six hitter in men’s ODIs.Rohit also had a huge run in Australia, scoring 990 runs in 19 matches at an average of 58.23, including four hundreds and two fifties. Crossing 1000 runs in Australia during this series would make him the first Indian to do so on Australian soil.His leadership record is equally impressive. Rohit led India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024 before retiring from the format and then captained the team to triumph in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He also announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year, closing a remarkable chapter in the game’s longest format.Player Matches TotalODITTestsT20ISachin Tendulkar6644632001Mahela Jayawardene65244814955Kumar Sangakkara59440413456Sanath Jayasuriya58644511031Ricky Ponting56037Virat516 Kohli551*302123125Mahendra Singh Dhoni5383509098Shahid Afridi5243982799Jacques Kallis51932816625Rahul Dravid5093441641Rohit Sharma500*2973671Australia won the toss and elected to field. After 223 long days, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are finally back in action for India, bringing their experience and firepower to the top of the order. All eyes will be on the two veterans who will take to the field under the leadership of Shubman Gill, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Indian ODI cricket.
