"I Saw Him As A Bowler": Rohit Sharma's Coach Shares Intriguing Childhood Tale
Rohit Sharma went on to become one of the finest opening batters in white-ball cricket but his childhood career has revealed that the Hitman started off as a bowler.
- Rohit Sharma began his cricket career as a bowler at age 12
- He was admitted to his coach Dinesh Lad's school in 1999 and initially didn't get to bat
- "I saw him as a bowler", said his coach, admitting that not giving him batting was a mistake
India's ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, went on to register his name in history as one of the most destructive opening batters in white-ball cricket. Rohit eventually made a name for himself as an opener but started his career as a middle-order batter in the national team. However, Rohit's childhood coach Dinesh Lad has revealed that the Hitman actually started his career as a bowler, at the age of 12. It was later that his talent with the bat came to the fore and the change in role took place.
"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 during a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani.
Lad admitted that it was his mistake to have not given Rohit an opportunity to bat when he first started coaching under him.
"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.
"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.
India Cricket Team
Rohit Sharma