Rohit Sharma’s Coach Reveals His Bowling Start
Rohit Sharma, one of India’s most prolific batters, began his cricket journey with completely different plans. The swashbuckling opener, who holds the world record for the highest individual ODI score of 264, also owns a rare IPL hat-trick. Rohit achieved the feat while playing for Deccan Chargers, making him the only player in league history to score a century and claim a hat-trick.
Coach Dinesh Lad First Saw Rohit as a Bowler
His childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, recalled discovering Rohit’s talent in a surprising way. “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,” Lad said on a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani.
In his early international career, Rohit often bowled as a part-time spinner. His IPL hat-trick made him a talking point, but as he became a fearless opener, his bowling gradually reduced. He took nine ODI wickets, two in Tests, and one in T20Is.
Discovery of Rohit Sharma’s Batting Talent
Lad admitted he initially missed Rohit’s batting potential. “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,” Lad revealed.
A single innings changed everything. “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 added.
From an aspiring bowler to India batting mainstay, Rohit Sharma’s cricket story shows how a coach’s eye can change a career.
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