Rohit Sharma, who already a star got the opportunity to open the innings for India under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. And, only after that, Sharma’s real talent got noticed before that he was a middle-order batsman. And, on the similar lines, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir expressed that if Dhoni hadn’t backed young Rohit, he would not have been a successful player like now.
Having made the debut for the Indian team in 2007, Rohit was promoted to the opening position in 2013 after Sachin Tendulkar’s exit. He then went on to become one of the best openers for India. Rohit is the only player to have three double hundred in ODI. In 2019, he bagged a new record of scoring five hundred in the World Cup. No cricketer has ever achieved this feat, so far, Rohit is the first to do so.
MS Dhoni’s backing made Rohit Sharma Successful: Gautam Gambhir
Cricketer-turned-politician Gambhir said that Rohit has now become a major part of the Indian team because Dhoni believed in him.
“Where Rohit Sharma is today, it is because of MS Dhoni,” Gambhir told Sports Tak.
“You can talk about the selection committee and team management, but if you do not have the backing from your captain than it is all useless. Everything is in the hands of the captain. How MS Dhoni had backed Rohit Sharma over a period of time, I do not think any player has been given such support.”
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should also support youngsters:
Gambhir, who is always open in keeping his opinion, asserted that the senior player Rohit and Virat should back the talented cricketers so that they can also give their best for the team.
“I hope the young cricketers in the current generation today, be it Shubman Gillm Sanju Samson, they also get similar kind of support. And now when Rohit is a senior, I expect him to give backing to youngsters. Rohit is a prime example of how a player can become a phenomenal cricketer, if he has good backing. One good thing about MS was that he always kept Rohit in the talks, even if was not part of the team, he was always part of the group. He never let him get sidelined.”
“I expect Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to groom the youngsters in the same way in which MS Dhoni groomed them.”
Earlier, Gambhir had said that there is a dearth of role models in the current Indian team. According to him, Virat and Rohit are the only two senior players in the team to guide the youngsters.