Rohit Sharma in pursuit of illustrious milestones as India gear up to face Ireland in ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma is standing on the threshold of numerous milestones as India gear up to face Ireland in their ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign opener.

The captain of the Indian team needs 54 more runs to overtake Mahela Jayawardene and become the second-leading run-scorer in the history of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Rohit has scored 963 runs in the tournament and is fourth on the list of the leading run-getters in the marquee ICC tournament.

Chris Gayle (965 runs), Mahela Jayawardene (1016 runs) and Virat Kohli (1141 runs) are the top three leading run-scorers in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Rohit is also inches away from becoming the first player in international cricket to smash 600 sixes. Rohit, 37, has already hit 597 sixes and requires three more to become the first-ever cricketer to achieve the milestone. Chris Gayle of West Indies is second on the list of players with the most sixes to his name (553 sixes).

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is third on the list with 476 maximums across formats.

Rohit Sharma opens up on bond with Rahul Dravid

"Look, my equation with him goes a long way, a long way back from the time he came to do this job. Actually he was my first international captain when I made my debut in Ireland," Rohit was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"And such a big role model for all of us growing up. We watched him play and we know what he's achieved personally as a player and also what he's done for the team over the years. Battling out the team from difficult situations. That is what he is known for. He's shown a lot of determination throughout his career. And that is something that when he came here as a coach, you know, I wanted to learn from him. And it's been very fruitful. Other than the big silverware (the World Cup). I think we won all the major tournaments and series."

India Squad: 

Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube

Ireland Squad: 

Paul Stirling(c), Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker(w), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Ross Adair, Barry McCarthy, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Craig Young, Benjamin White, Neil Rock, Graham Hume