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Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir revealed a WhatsApp chat he had with an out-of-form Rohit Sharma in 2012 during an interview in 2020. While Rohit had established himself as one of India's all-time greats in white-ball cricket in 2020, the right-hander was struggling to find his feet in international cricket in 2012.
The now-38-year-old hit rock bottom during India's 2012 ODI series in Sri Lanka, scoring only 13 runs at an average of 2.60 in five games.
Gambhir, who was part of the Indian side in the series, later revealed his message to Rohit after they landed in India.
In a conversation with Star Sports in 2020, Gambhir said (via ESPN Cricinfo):
"I remember he had a miserable Sri Lankan tour where he scored 10 or 15 runs in five ODIs. And when we landed in Delhi, I actually WhatsApp'ed him. It was probably the first time I WhatsApp'ed anyone saying that he is going to rule Indian cricket. Because I knew the amount of talent he had. And after that series where he scored only 15 runs in five games, I messaged him. "Rohit had predominantly batted in the middle-order until the 2012 Sri Lankan series, scoring only two centuries in 86 games.
"Good on MS Dhoni that he backed him" - Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir, in the same conversation, went on to praise the then-Indian skipper MS Dhoni for backing Rohit Sharma despite the latter's inconsistent run. Following the Sri Lankan series in 2012, Rohit was promoted to the top of the order at the start of the 2013 season.
The stylish right-hander immediately struck gold, scoring a 93-ball 83 against England, resulting in him becoming India's ODI opener since.
"Good on MS Dhoni that he backed him because not a lot of people have been backed like what Rohit has been backed by skippers. So You've got to give a lot of credit to MS Dhoni for his evolution and actually promoting him to open the batting with me. The first time he opened the batting in one-day cricket was with me actually in Mohali against England. Then he made a comeback and MS made him open the batting and he got 60-odd runs and from thereon, he hasn't looked back," said Gambhir (via the aforementioned source).The backing of Rohit Sharma has paid rich dividends as the right-hander has gone on to become one of India's most accomplished ODI batters with over 11,000 runs, including 32 centuries, in 273 matches. He also captained India to 42 wins in 56 games, including the 2025 Champions Trophy glory.
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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
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