Hitman, Rohit Sharma is turning 35 today. He was termed as an extremely talented player at a young age. However, he kept getting in and out of the team. He was tried in the middle overs. However, he could only make a mark for himself when he was asked to open the innings. What happened after that is the birth of the fearless power-hitting cricketer that we call ‘Hitman’. Rohit has a plethora of records, hitting 3 ODI double-ton, highest individual score in ODIs (264), scoring most centuries (4) in T20Is are only some of these. Now let us look at some most interesting facts about Rohit Sharma as he steps into a new chapter of life.
Interesting facts about Rohit Sharma
1. Love for eggs
Rohit’s family is strictly vegetarian as he hails from a Brahmin household. But to meet dietary needs, Rohit had to consume eggs. However, he ate eggs away from his house, adhering to family norms. His coach Dinesh Lad used to feed him eggs at his home. Once, he was challenged by a friend to eat as many eggs as he could in a go. Rohit is believed to have eaten 45 eggs in a go. However, he says this is a mere exaggeration, the number would’ve been around 15-20.
2. Virender Sehwag is his idol
Virender Sehwag was an idol for many young aspiring cricketers because of his tremendous ability with the bat. Rohit Sharma too looked up at Sehwag. Once Rohit has bunked his school to meet his idol, Sehwag.
3. Has an IPL hat-trick
Rohit is known for his exceptional hitting abilities. However, it is to note that he even has an IPL hattrick. What makes it more interesting is Rohit Sharma picked the hat-trick against Mumbai Indians. Back in 2009 when Hitman played for Deccan Chargers, he dismissed Abhishek Nayar, Harbhajan Singh, and Saurabh Tiwary to pick a wicket.
4. Mother tongue is Telugu
Rohit Sharma is well-versed in at least 4 languages. Apart from knowing Hindi and English, being a Mumbaikar he is very fluent in Marathi. But what’s interesting is that his mother tongue is not Hindi or Marathi. It is Telugu. Since Rohit’s mother hails from Vishakapatnam, the language he converses at home is Telugu. Despite living in Mumbai for the majority of his life, he speaks very fluent Telugu.
Also read: Rohit Sharma: Age, Height, Family, Controversies, Awards, Unknown Facts, Biography, and more
5. Started career as off-spinner
When Rohit joined a club in Borivali as a kid in 1999. He started playing cricket as an off-spinner. He could bat only a little. However, his coach Dinesh Lad acknowledged his talent and started training him as a batter. He was promoted from batting at 8 to opening the innings in a school tournament. He scored 120 runs in the match.
6. Received an award from Sachin Tendulkar as a kid
In 2003 Rohit was presented with the Junior Cricketer of the Year Award from Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has been an inspiration for Rohit since childhood. It was a huge moment in his life to receive an award from him. This was also the first time he had met Sachin Tendulkar in real life. He later played alongside Sachin in Mumbai Indians.
7. Had to wait for 3 years for Test debut
Rohit was all set to make his Test debut against South Africa in 2010. The match was to be played at Nagpur, which is his birthplace. However, he got injured in the morning and Wriddhiman Saha went on to make his debut. He had to wait for more than 3 years to get another chance. He smashed a century on his Test debut against West Indies in 2013.
Also read: Rohit Sharma cars collection: How many cars does Rohit Sharma have?
8. First Indian to score hundred in T20 cricket
Rohit was the first Indian to smash a century in the shortest format of the game. It was in the 2006-07 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that Rohit had smashed a century against Gujarat. The Mumbai batter had scored 101* off 45 deliveries smashing 13 fours and 5 sixes. Currently, Rohit has the highest runs in T20I cricket. Moreover, he has smashed a total of 4 centuries in T20Is.
9. Wanted to quit cricket once
Rohit’s mother never liked cricket as a full-time profession. In addition, Rohit was from a low-middle income family. And we wanted to financially support his family as soon as he could. So he used to appear for police and other government jobs. However, he could not clear the exams. He just wanted to complete his graduation at a point in his life.
10. Is forgetful
From Virat Kohli to Dinesh Karthik, everyone has talked about how forgetful Rohit Sharma is. Everything ranging from his iPad, passport, and luggage has been forgotten by him. He once left some stuff on a plane and it had to be called back. Virat Kohli also shares how the logistic manager would ask the team bus to move ahead only after checking Rohit is carrying everything. Moreover, Rohit is a lazy person and loves to sleep.
This was our attempt to compile the 10 most interesting facts about Rohit Sharma. Comment down if you know more!
