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“People talk about Sachin Tendulkar’s career. People talk about Virat Kohli’s career. Whenever we will talk about Rohit Sharma, it would be about the way he has come up (in his career),” said ex-India cricket and one of the finest coaches, Chandrakant Pandit.
Trust Pandit to say it like he sees it.
More than halfway into criss-crossing the country for the league matches in the ICC World Cup, India’s next stop will be the favourite of the team leader — the Wankhede Stadium that hosts the game against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
The emotional connect to a home ground is unmatched. You spend your early years training there, you know every nook and cranny, you know where the most vociferous fans sit, you’ve even sat in the stands yourself. A home away from home; a comfort zone. Rohit will feel that too. It will rekindle memories as he walks out on Thursday and that of all those who have seen him grow and become this mega star.
Circa 2004. Mumbai are to play against the all-conquering Australia. You’re playing your first game. And you arrive late for practice… without your kitbag!
The Mumbai coach then? Pandit. No nonsense and firebrand, disciplinarian. That youngster? Rohit. Based on his potential, he was set to make his Mumbai debut.
“He came late and said he was standing near the door (of a local train) and his kit fell down,” Pandit recalled. “It was a little upsetting to hear that. I was thinking, ‘How come he is so casual about it?’ But he wasn’t lying. All Mumbai players used to travel by local train those days. I could understand that. (But at) that moment, I was a little upset. He missed out on that match.”
What helped Rohit’s case was that recommendation of his talent had come from none other than Dilip Vengsarkar, a towering figure in Mumbai and Indian cricket and a great judge of potential.
“Sometimes some people will tell you: why don’t you have a look at this player? But Vengsarkar was so confident about Rohit, he straightaway told me you make him play,” said Pandit.
“Though I was a little upset with Rohit’s approach (I understood), he had that kind of nature. It was not easy for me initially to accept because of my principles in coaching and discipline, (and) he was always casual. But he never uttered a word; he has always been very calm and cool. So, it took a little time (to gauge his seriousness).
“Then obviously in the net practice and matches, I could see his tremendous talent. One can’t teach someone how to approach the game because his way of playing the game was with freedom and with a fearless approach,” added Pandit.
That very player Vengsarkar and Pandit backed as a teenager has made them proud with a dazzling show in this World Cup. Rohit’s ease has combined with a steely determination.
Vengsarkar was chairman of BCCI’s Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDO) then and according to him, Rohit’s talent was obvious.
“Rohit was around 17 when he was picked in NCA (National Cricket Academy). I was a talent-spotter (at TRDO) at that time. We had a lot of tournaments at NCA. He scored a hundred in one of the games. What impressed me was his sheer talent. When I came back to Mumbai, I insisted (for) him to be picked in the Mumbai team. Not many had seen him before, but I had, so I could impress upon the other selectors,” recalled Vengsarkar, who was also Mumbai’s chief selector.
The Mumbai school of batting has changed. The khadoos (grit) element still exists but the intent to dominate is obvious. “Rohit makes batting look so easy. He is 36 but is picking the length so early and pulling the bowlers with disdain,” Vengsarkar said.
The key to Rohit making it big despite a laidback approach is the confidence in his ability, said Pandit.
“I don’t think he was worried about comparisons with anybody. That helped him. He did his own thing. I will say his nature and character has brought him up to this level. Basically, he has not changed his approach to the game, that is the beauty of his character. He was never worried about anything.”
In the same 2004 season, another Mumbai coach’s backing shaped Rohit’s career. Playing for the Mumbai under-19 team, Rohit had a disappointing season, but coach Sulakshan Kulkarni persisted with him.
“He scored just one fifty, but I knew he was a massive talent. I can never forget a six he hit in a practice match at Wankhede. It was the shot he plays on the front foot to midwicket off the pace bowlers. But that shot, instead of midwicket, he hit straight. The ball hit the board on the roof of the stadium on which Tata End was written,” says Kulkarni, who coached Mumbai to the 2004-05 Vinoo Mankad Trophy, recalled.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer was Rohit’s senior in the Mumbai team. They also played together for Indian Oil Corporation for many years.
“My first impression was that he was laidback. He was talented too, that goes without saying. Apart from that he had mental strength,” said Jaffer. “When he came into the Mumbai team, he didn’t look out of place when batting. A lot of youngsters look lost coming from U-19, get overawed, especially in the Mumbai dressing room. But he knew what he had to do.”
Jaffer added: “He developed and kept improving. Even when he got the opportunity at international level, in the 2007 T20 World Cup, he got runs when it was needed. That’s the quality he had, to shine when his back is to the wall. That is a quality very few people have.”
Another Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar was first told about Rohit by Venkatesh Prasad, who was then a junior national selector.
“I remember the first time I heard about Rohit was at the steps of Chinnaswamy Stadium entrance where I was talking to Venkatesh Prasad,” said Muzumdar. “He said, ‘You have to take a look at Rohit, he’s brilliant, he is amazing, his talent in fantastic’. This is how it operates. When some new guy comes, It spreads by word of mouth, that’s how Mumbai cricket operates. It was the same when Wasim Jaffer came on the scene.”
Rohit was picked in the India U-19 side for the one-dayers and went on to play the 2006 U-19 World Cup. He returned and hit an unbeaten 142 against North Zone in the Deodhar Trophy. He never looked back from there.
As he turns up as a World Cup skipper on his home turf, the path ahead for Rohit and his unbeaten troops promises to lead to glory.
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