“Tujhe pata hai kiska seat hai woh?” - When Rohit Sharma recalled his not so pleasant first interaction with Yuvraj Singh
Team India captain Rohit Sharma and former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh are known to be good friends. In fact, Rohit’s wife Ritika Sajdeh is Yuvraj’s 'rakhi' sister. However, the Indian skipper’s first meeting with the 2011 World Cup star was not a very pleasant one.
Yuvraj made his international debut in 2000, and was among the senior members of the national team when Rohit entered the international arena in 2007. The latter went on to establish himself as one of the finest batters in white-ball cricket.
In a fun interaction with Gaurav Kapur on his chat show ‘Breakfast With Champions’ back in 2017, Rohit spilled the beans on his first meeting with Yuvraj and recalled that it was not a very happy one.
The incident dates back to the time when the 36-year-old was a new entrant to the Indian team. He remembered sitting in the team bus and the former all-rounder approaching him.
Narrating details of the awkward interaction, Rohit told Gaurav:
“I was a big fan of Yuvi. Seriously, he came out like a footballer - in shorts and socks, nice sunglasses and cap, with headphones on. I recognized instantly that this is him. He came inside [the bus] and I said, ‘Yuvi paa, hi Rohit’."
Yuvraj responded:
“Haan, but tujhe pata hai kiska seat hai woh?” (“Yes, but you know whose seat this is?”)
Rohit said, ‘I don’t know,' to which Yuvraj replied:
“Bhai, main baittha hun udhar. Chal dusra seat pakad le.” (“Brother, this is my seat, you sit at another place.”)
Rohit, however, was quick to correct himself and added that the senior cricketer wasn’t as rude to him as he first made it sound.
“He didn’t say that actually. He said, ‘Bhai main baittha hun udhar (brother, I sit here), so please if you can…,” the Indian captain said, concluding the amusing tale.
A white-ball legend, Yuvraj represented India in 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, scoring 8,701 and 1,177 runs respectively. He also played 40 Test matches, scoring 1,900 runs at an average of 33.92.
Rohit Sharma will be keen to regain form in the Test series against England
Rohit Sharma is currently leading India in the five-match Test series against England at home. After two games, the series is level at 1-1. While England won the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs, India hit back with a 106-run victory in Visakhapatnam.
However, the Indian captain has been disappointing with the bat in the series so far. In four innings, he has only managed 90 runs at an average of 22.50, with a best of 39.
He would be looking to get back to his best as the series progresses.