“Rohit Sharma is Rohit Sharma because of him,” Gautam Gambhir says this Indian legend is the reason Rohit Sharma scored 10,000 runs

Gambhir says he expects Rohit to back upcoming players like a former captain.

Rohit Sharma (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

On 12th September, Rohit Sharma became the 6th Indian to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. Rohit started off his career as a middle order batsman and struggled to find his place in the Indian ODI team. After being slotted as an opener, Rohit fixed his spot in the ODI team and since then he has always been an important player. He had also become the captain of the team in 2021.

During the rain break in the match between India and Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir spoke about the importance of Rohit Sharma for the Indian team. He said all this would not have been possible without Rohit being promoted as an opener by MS Dhoni.

Gambhir said “Scoring 10,000 runs was not easy for him. Saw many ups and downs. Having seen that phase, Rohit, as a captain, will back youngsters who go through a difficult period. Rohit Sharma is Rohit Sharma today because of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.”

Gambhir is excited to see how Rohit Sharma grooms young players

IMG COM 20230912 1722 43 7181 — Rohit Sharma in action against Sri Lanka (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

Gautam Gambhir said he’s excited to see how Rohit will back upcoming players. Even though Dhoni didn’t want Rohit Sharma in the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup, he always backed him to play in the Indian team.

Gambhir thinks as Rohit Sharma has struggled a lot in the start of his career, he will know how tough it is as an upcoming player. As he knows the journey, Gambhir says Rohit will also back young players like MS Dhoni.

Rohit Sharma has captained India to back to back finals in the ODI Asia Cup. He had won it in 2018 as captain after Kohli was rested from the competition. Rohit’s aim will be to ensure he win the competition once again.