Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma has played an important role in the journey of the Indian team to the final of the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad.
But before discussing this new role of Rohit Sharma, let’s talk about the time when financial difficulties blocked his way at many times in his life.
This is in 1999 when the Indian cricket team was playing the World Cup in England under the captaincy of Mohammad Azharuddin.
Here in Borivali, a suburb of Mumbai, the father and family of 12-year-old Rohit Sharma painstakingly collected some money and arranged to send him to a cricket camp.
His father, who works in a warehouse for a transport firm, had a meager income, so Rohit lived with his grandfather and uncle Ravi Sharma these days, but conditions were no different there. Was also worried.
But then a match and a school changed the course of Rohit’s cricket career.
That same year, Rohit Sharma was playing a match against Swami Vivekananda International School in Borivali when the school’s coach, Dinesh Lad, saw him play and recommended the school’s owner, Yogesh Patel, to give him a scholarship.
According to Yogesh Patel, now 54, ‘Our coach said that this boy has great cricketing skills but his family could not pay the Rs 275 monthly fee for our school due to their financial condition and poverty. So he should be given a scholarship.’
He said, “I am happy that we took this decision and today Rohit is the captain of the Indian cricket team.” Our coach’s opinion was right.
Lack of money
Many years after this decision, Rohit Sharma himself said in an interview given to ESPNcricinfo, a cricket analysis and commentary website, that the coach wanted me to join the Vivekananda School and start playing cricket. But I had no money. Then they gave me a scholarship and for four years I had the opportunity to study and play for free.
Within a few months of joining this new school, Rohit Sharma played an unbeaten innings of 140 runs that was the talk of Mumbai schools, stadiums and cricket critics.
From Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli to Parveen Amre, all grew up learning cricket at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
Dozens of nets are still in play on this ground, one of which belongs to Ashok Shivalkar, who used to play here as a player during the same era.
“I remember Rohit Sharma used to bowl off-spin for his school,” says Ashok Shivalkar. After that, his coach realized his batting talent.
After that, Rohit started planting his flags in Mumbai’s famous Kanga League Cricket to Mumbai Cricket Association tournaments.
Yogesh Patel, owner of Vivekananda School, says, “Rohit called me during the Covid-19 to inquire about his well-being. I said keep helping people. Glad to see him.
Rohit’s change in strategy
Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team who reached the finals against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium, has proved his ability not only by the decisions made in his captaincy but also by his batting throughout the tournament.
Rohit, who is the highest run scorer in the 2019 World Cup, has changed his strategy in this recent Cricket World Cup and it has been seen that he attacks the bowlers in the very first power play at the start of the match, regardless of the big target. They do and play aggressively.
This has not only given Shubman Gill a chance to overcome adversity, but Kohli, Iyer and Rahul have also got a chance to perform well in the middle order.
In the first match of this World Cup, he was dismissed for zero against Australia, but Rohit Sharma’s score after that tells a different story.
This streak started with 131 runs, followed by 86, 48, 46, 87, 4, 40, 61 to 47 runs and Rohit’s strike rate in these innings has been 124.15, which is commendable.
Rohit’s performance has not only helped India get off to a good start but also made it easier for them to successfully chase down any team’s big target.
If anything is missing from Rohit’s successful journey so far, it is for him to hold the Cricket World Cup in his hands and lift it in the air and win this big event on his home soil.
The last match of the tournament is against the same Australian team against whom they could not open the account in the first match.
Now what could be better than making a big score in the final and forgetting the first match!