When not many in part of and following Indian cricket backed Rohit Sharma after his disappointing start to his international career, one of the few people who believed in Rohit’s capabilities was Gautam Gambhir.
While fans will always go gaga over MS Dhoni promoting Rohit Sharma to open in the 2013 Champions Trophy and that proved to be the turning point in his career, Gautam Gambhir gave his full backing and support to Rohit Sharma in 2012 in an interview with Aaj Tak.
By the end of 2012, Rohit averaged a mediocre 29 in ODI cricket and had just 2 centuries in 81 ODI innings, numbers belying his talent.
As Rohit Sharma led India to the World Cup 2023 final, a video has gone viral on Twitter which is an interview of Gautam Gambhir from 2012, when Rohit was still struggling at the international level and was even about to be dropped from the side.
In an interview in 2012 with Aaj Tak, Gautam Gambhir talked about Rohit Sharma’s talent and gifts as a batsman. He even defended Sharma from any ill allegation hinted by the show host.
“You can play for India, but to sustain at that level, and to perform continuously is very difficult. There are talented players – someone like Rohit Sharma, I think Rohit is so talented that,” – but Gambhir was cut off by the host, who pointed out that Rohit hasn’t stood up on his talent so far. The host even suggested Rohit might have interests other than sports.
Very calmy, Gambhir defended Rohit, saying there is no such like that. Gambhir added, “The way Rohit looked focused in Australia [in 2012 tour], he has a lot of talent. Yes, so far he hasn’t fulfilled his talent and potential, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be successful in the future. We have a lot of expectations from Rohit Sharma. Hopefully, he will come good.”
Watch: Gautam Gambhir predicted big future for ‘talented’ Rohit Sharma in 2012
11 years ago about Rohit Sharma 🫶 pic.twitter.com/GH4TsOnozB
— Ashish Shrivastava (@ashishayush1177) November 16, 2023
Now, not only Rohit Sharma has become one of the greatest-ever white-ball openers, he’s also led Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL titles, and now is one win away from securing India’s third ODI World Cup trophy.
