It was days before the Brisbane Test in 2021, and we had broken the news that Jasprit Bumrah was injured and likely to play a part in the decider. Understandably, the news went viral within minutes and social media was abuzz with what it meant for India’s chances at the Gabba. For us, this was routine work and we did not think much till Rohit Sharma messaged.
It was just before noon that he sent a long WhatsApp message requesting us not to break any injury related news. The Bumrah update, Rohit argued, could help Australia and allow them to plan better for Brisbane. It was a tricky request. We are in the business of news and it is part of our job to break important updates for our viewers and readers. And here was the Indian vice-captain requesting us not to do so for this one Test match. We promised Rohit we would heed his request, for that’s what we believed was more important in the circumstances. Rohit, on his part, understood where we were coming from and has since acknowledged multiple times that we had kept our word.
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The question is why did Rohit do what he did. Did he not know that, as media professionals, we needed to break news? And by reaching out to us, he was taking a chance?
Most importantly, the boundary between the player and the media was blurred for an instant, and that is not something we see happen too often. But that’s how Rohit is. He will go to any length to ensure his team benefits. And if that means he has to do things differently, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so. Ask his teammates, and almost all of them swear by Rohit. He leads by example and is known to make the youngsters feel at ease when they are new to the dressing room. Not only does he take them out for dinner to ease them into the pressures of international cricket, he always maintains that, as leader, he is the least important member of the team and it is his job to help his teammates.
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“You can’t lead a cricket team in isolation,” he once told me. “You have to understand and talk to each and every player in your team to know what they are thinking and how they are approaching the game. You have to make sure that they buy into your strand of thinking for only then can a successful cricket team get created. I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I have learnt a great deal from doing so. You learn to understand human minds better, tackle situations better, get exposed to different cultures and ideas and, at the end of the day, turn into a better human being.”
It was the leader in Rohit Sharma that was celebrated at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. And the high point was when he urged his parents to come up on stage to unveil the stand. For a young kid from Borivali to make it to the top of the world game and now have a stand named after him, Rohit’s is a story for the ages. A story that proves that dreams do come true.
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