"My eyes went up there and I saw that Rohit Sharma still on 0"- Indian skipper recalls hilarious stump mic chat with umpire
Indian captain Rohit Sharma is known for his sense of humour and his cheeky one-liners, be it in the press conference off the field or those caught on stump mic on the field.
One such instance was during the third T20I between India and Afghanistan in Bengaluru in January when Rohit had a chat with the on-field umpire. The skipper had already scored two ducks in the series and was itching to get off the mark.
He guided a delivery down the leg side towards the fine-leg boundary, but umpire Virender Sharma adjudged it as leg-byes. Here's what Rohit Sharma was heard as saying after the end of that over to the umpire:
"Viru thigh pad diya kya pehla ball, itna bada bat laga hai bhai, already mera 2 zero ho gaya hai (Viru, did you give the 1st ball as thigh pad, it clearly touched the bat. I already have two zeroes in the series)."
In an event ahead of the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala, here's what Rohit Sharma was quoted as saying by TOI:
"When you're coming off two zeros, we know how important scoring the first run is. I usually don't look at the scoreboard much while batting. My mind is on batting, but when the over was completed, my eyes went up there and I saw that Rohit Sharma still on 0. I was like 'I just scored a four. How is it still zero?' So, I asked him 'Viru, did you give it off the thigh pad?'"
Rohit ended up having a sensational outing in that game as he remained unbeaten on 121* off just 69 balls, scoring a record fifth T20I hundred. The game was won by the hosts in a thrilling fashion as it required back-to-back super overs to separate the two teams.
Rohit Sharma claimed his one-liners are not planned
Rohit Sharma delivered more of such gems on the stump mic during the ongoing Test series against England. However, he claimed that it was something that's pretty natural as he has to have a chat with the fielders, especially while taking a DRS.
On this, he stated:
"See, I don't have any favourite line as such and I don't even do it deliberately. Now I am the captain so I stand in the slips, because the angle from there helps me get a better look at the fielders and take stock of DRS. So I keep talking to the fielders and it gets recorded."
Rohit and his men have already sealed the series 3-1 going into the Dharamsala Test. However, he would certainly love to make it 4-1 and mark a sensational comeback after losing in Hyderabad.