Pragyan Ojha Reminisces About Their Heartfelt Conversation With the Indian Captain

Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha recalled one of his earliest talks with star Mumbai batter Rohit Sharma, saying the Mumbai native became emotional when he talked about his humble upbringing and how he struggled to pay for his cricket uniforms. 

Pragyan Ojha, a member of the PL governing council and a former left-arm spinner for India, remembered one of his first meetings with Rohit Sharma and emphasised how the India skipper came from a modest upbringing and achieved great success at the international level. Ojha and Rohit were friends since they were playing youth cricket together, and they later joined the Deccan Chargers in the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.

Pragyan Ojha reported that Rohit Sharma became emotional while talking about his upbringing and his struggles to afford uniforms when he first entered the world of professional cricket. Before Ojha moved on to play for the Mumbai Indians, they were teammates at the Deccan Chargers.The two cricketers teamed up at MI as well, participating in successful campaigns in 2013 and 2015.

Ojha and Rohit collaborated on 24 international games for India, including 2 Tests, and have remained close off the field ever since.

Ojha remembered meeting Rohit for the first time at a U-15 national camp and how there was a lot of talk about the young man from Mumbai's talent at the time.

Statement by Ojha

"When I first met Rohit in the U-15 national camp, everyone said he was a very special player. There, I played against him and took his wicket. Rohit was a typical Bombay guy who didn’t speak much but was aggressive when he played. In fact, I was very surprised as to why he was being so aggressive with me when we didn’t know each other! But after that our friendship began to grow,” Ojha recalled in an interview to Jio Cinema.

“He was from a middle-class family and I remember he once got emotional when we discussed how his budget for cricket kits was restricted. In fact, he also delivered milk packets – of course that was really a long time ago – so that he could buy his kit. Now when I see him, I feel very proud of how our journey started and where we reached,” added Ojha.

Rohit’s Cricket Career

After being hailed as a prodigy, Rohit Sharma made his India debut in white-ball cricket as early as 2007. Rohit excelled in the inaugural T20 World Cup, which was also his first significant event at the top level, and adapted to international cricket like a fish to water. Rohit is a Mumbai batsman. In 4 games, Rohit scored 88 runs, including a crucial 50 for MS Dhoni's victorious side.

Rohit struggled to maintain his place in the ODI team, but after he started to begin the innings in the 50-over version of the game, his career took a turn for the better. Along with his sensational performances in T20Is and his late bloom as a Test opener, Rohit has since gone on to collect 9825 runs in total, including 30 hundreds in the ODI format.

Skipper is the Prankstar of the Team

Ojha praised Rohit for his ability to keep the atmosphere in the locker room light and remembered how the Mumbai star would pull practical jokes on his teammates.

"Till the time Rohit got a chance to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy we had just known each other. But our friendship grew when we came to a common point. He was a good mimic and I really like people who can play pranks, and Rohit is among them."