Rohit Sharma has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific batters in Indian cricket history, but when he started playing cricket at a young age, his plans were completely different.
The swashbuckling opener, who holds the record of the highest-ever individual score in ODI cricket history – 264, also has an IPL hat-trick in his kitty to brag about. Rohit achieved the feat with the ball when he used to play at Deccan Chargers, but he still remains the only player in the league history to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the tournament.
His childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, also asserted that when he scouted the veteran batter, he was 12 years old, and he used to train him for his bowling.
“I first saw him as a bowler, he was about 12 years old. I saw him playing a match against us. Then I told his uncle (Chacha) to get him admitted to my school. The school started in 1995, and I saw Rohit in 1999. He took admission that year. In the first year, he was in under 14. During practice, I kept making him bowl. Next year, Rohit went to 8th standard and was 14 years old,” Rohit’s coach Lad said on a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani.
Early in his international journey, he occasionally filled in as a part-time spinner, especially after grabbing headlines in the IPL with a hat-trick. Over time, he collected nine wickets in One-Day Internationals, two in Test matches, and one in T20 Internationals. However, as his reputation as a fearless, free-scoring opener grew, his bowling responsibilities gradually diminished.
Lad shed light on how he discovered Rohit’s batting talent, admitting his mistake of not identifying it earlier.
“I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn’t know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake,” he continued.
“I felt Rohit Sharma had a very good talent for batting”
Lad further revealed that Rohit’s 40-run knock at number 7 promoted him to the batting line-up. He advised Rohit to concentrate on his batting, a shift that ultimately changed the course of his career.
“He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too,” Lad said.