"Usse bada achha lagta tha jab mai ek gaana gaata tha" - Shikhar Dhawan recalls opening the batting with Rohit Sharma
Veteran Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan picked Rohit Sharma as his favorite opening partner. The duo opened the innings for India for almost a decade and had several memorable partnerships.
On the occasion of Friendship Day on August 4, Dhawan opened up on his memories of walking out to bat with Rohit and the moments they had in the middle. He spoke about the songs he used to sing while batting and how Rohit liked to hear it and also sing a bit himself.
Here's what Shikhar Dhawan told Star Sports about Rohit Sharma:
"I have opened with him for 8-10 years, so I have a strong bond with him. He is a gem of a person. Usse bada achha lagta tha jab mai ek gaana gaata tha pitch pe (he used to like it a lot whenever I sang one particular song), 'putt jattan de bulaonde bakre'. So he would look at me and then sing the same song. It's one moment that repeated often. He remembered a couple of lines from the song, which he used to sing and then laugh."
In 115 innings that Rohit and Dhawan opened together for India in ODIs, they scored a staggering 5148 runs at an average of 45.55 with as many as 18 century stands. They are at number four in terms of total runs scored by an opening pair in the history of ODIs.
Virat Kohli on his vision with Rohit Sharma
Star Sports released another video on Friendship Day, this time with star batter Virat Kohli opening up on his bonding with Rohit Sharma. Kohli spoke about how the goal for him and Rohit has always been to win silverware with the Indian team. Here's what he said:
"Our understanding, our vision for the game has always been similar. To make India win. That is always the main goal and our focus is always on that. It is all about handling pressure and that's where we try to lead the way so that others become a bit relaxed."
The duo finally achieved that goal together when India beat South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in June. Both Kohli and Rohit announced their retirements from the T20I format, seeing it as the best possible time to pass the baton to the younger generation.