Rohit Sharma - the boy with no money for books
Three stories from his life and cricket
Gurunath Sharma came home from work after a long tiring day. He was the caretaker of a storehouse nearby. His wife Poornima smiled at him and offered him a cup of tea and a piece of bun. That was all she had in her kitchen. She had just fed her toddler son Rohit a piece of roti dipped in dal and gotten him to sleep. Earlier that morning, Gurunath had walked to his storehouse hoping for a raise in his salary; the family could not afford to buy three meals. But luck had not been on his side when he had met his bosses earlier that morning. As he narrated his conversation with his boss, Poornima showed no reaction on her face and went back to wiping the kitchen counter clean (it had nothing much to show by way of cooking, yet she kept scrubbing it till it was spotless). There was a small tug in her heart as she thought of her toddler son going to bed hungry on most days.
Sunday came and with it the prospects of a trip to meet the rest of the extended family. Gurunath, Poornima and Rohit bundled into one of Mumbai’s rusty old sub-urban trains in Dombivali. They got off the crowded compartment holding onto little Rohit tightly and began their arduous walk to the bus-stand nearby. After a trip on a rickety bus across the island of Mumbai, they once again boarded a train along the Western line of Mumbai to reach Borivalli. None of them had eaten anything since morning and were only too eager to sit down for a family lunch at Gurunath’s parents’ place.
After lunch, Rohit’s grandfather and uncles gave the little boy a loving bear hug as he skipped outside the doorway, running towards his cousins. Little Rohit was eager to be a part of whatever his cousins were upto, which meant scurrying down the roads and holding an ancient piece of wood that was going to be their cricket bat for the day. One of the neighbourhood kids had found an uneven cricket ball that had been discarded in the garbage bins. The boys in the street were a raucous lot for the next few hours, swinging the piece of wood for fours and sixes while another bunch insisted on jumping across ditches trying to catch the ball before it hit an annoying uncle’s window.
Gurunath’s father had long been pained by the difficulties his son and daughter-in-law were facing. The toll it was taking on his grandson Rohit, denying him three square meals a day, was a cause of much disquiet to him. At their father’s beckoning, Gurunath’s brothers came to sit with him post lunch. They suggested to their brother that they would be happy to take on the responsibility of raising Rohit till such time that Gurunath could find better financial prospects.
Poornima and Gurunath looked at each other. Tears had begun to swell in their eyes at the thought of their son having to live far from them. Rohit would meet them over weekends when the family got together. Reason dictated that Rohit would be better off with his uncles and grandparents a.k.a fully fed-clothed-educated. With a heavy heart, they agreed. Little Rohit did not fully understand the circumstances but agreed to bid his mom and dad goodbye as they left for their home in Dombivali. The toddler clutched the hands of one of his uncles firmly as he saw his parents get onto the local train that soon went chugging away.
Rohit Sharma (the skipper of the Indian cricket team) is much loved and admired. His story is that of rags to riches. His is also a story that goes to show how the right attitude, a spot of talent and a bit of luck is what it takes to scale great heights.
This edition of The Lighter Side highlights three stories from his life.
~10 years later…..
Rohit’s uncle was walking home and watched his nephew bowl splendidly, taking four wickets in rapid succession. He was proud of the boy’s talent and keen to build it further. The family, of course, had little to no money to invest in a full-fledged coaching. He encouraged Rohit to play with the neighbourhood kids in the public playground and participate in cricket tournaments every summer.
It was the 31st of May, 1999. Rohit’s local team had reached the finals of a cricket tournament held in the neighbourhood of Borivalli. The coach of the opposing team in the finals was impressed by Rohit’s off-spin bowling. At the end of the match, he walked upto the 11-year old Rohit and praised him. The cricket coach Mr.Dinesh Lad was a former railway worker and was passionate about training young kids. When Mr.Lad found that Rohit was not enrolled in any cricket coaching academy, he asked Rohit if he could meet his parents. Rohit’s uncle, who had come to watch the match, came to meet Mr.Lad in the playground. Lad suggested to his uncle that Rohit had much potential and would benefit from going to a school that had great training facilities. Lad also told him that he was the sports coach at the Swami Vivekanand International School and that he could get Rohit admitted into the school.
Two days later, Rohit and his uncle met Mr.Lad at the school. The director of the school, on Mr.Lad’s recommendation agreed to admit Rohit into the school in Grade 7. As his uncle went downstairs with the admit form in hand, he stopped in his tracks. He noticed that the fees for the school was INR 275 per month. He turned to Mr.Lad and thanked him profusely for showing faith in Rohit. But he declared that he was not going to be able to enrol Rohit in the school as he could not afford the fees. The school where Rohit went to currently, charged him INR 30 per month, and that was the best he could afford.
Mr.Lad paused for a minute, took the admission form and went back to meet the Director. Mr.Lad asked him if he was willing to offer free education to this boy given his financial constraints and his talent. The Director without any further arguments, agreed instantly and signed off on the form. Rohit began his Grade 7 the very next day in Swami Vivekanand International School. It was a new chapter in his cricket training.
Of note: - Mr.Dinesh Lad has never charged any parent a single rupee for his coaching services. He has won the Dronacharaya Award bestowed by the Government of India for exceptional sports coaches.
The day Rohit’s career turned sour
A few years went by. Rohit had been playing well for his school team. He had started as an off-spin bowler. Mr.Lad discovered that the boy was a gifted batsman as well. He trained Rohit in equal measure to bowl and bat. In Grade 8, Rohit’s school was to participate in the Gilles Shield Tournament (organised by the Mumbai Schools Sports Association). The morning of the first match, Mr.Lad looked at Rohit and asked him, ‘Are you ready to open?’ Rohit was ecstatic at being given the opportunity and confidently walked into the field. He scored a century in his very first match. Rohit Sharma - the batsman, was born.
Mr.Lad says “Rohit’s greatest asset was his positive mindset. He never let failures come in the way of his confidence. He was a natural batsman and I rarely had to teach him anything much with respect to technique. I was always there to ensure he got plenty of opportunities to practise and play.”
Over the next 6 years, Rohit continued to hone his cricket skills and graduated from school. He was selected to represent India in U-19 matches and his career prospects kept zooming up. Mr.Lad found an apartment in his own building for Rohit to rent. Lad was practically a parent and mentor to him, keeping an eye on his studies, his diet and his practice schedule. The boy reached new cricketing heights when he was selected to play for India in the T20 World Cup in 2007. Rohit Sharma’s performance in that world cup turned him into an international sensation.
Soon after, he decided to move out of the apartment he was staying in (near Mr.Lad) to Bandra (a suburb in Mumbai). Mr.Lad was not in favour of this move as he felt that it would dilute Rohit’s focus on cricket. Rohit, though, was keen on the move and shifted to Bandra. True to Lad’s prediction, Rohit’s cricketing form worsened over the next couple of years. The Indian team selectors dropped him from the World Cup Squad for 2011. The axe had fallen. Rohit’s phone rang and Mr.Lad asked Rohit to come and meet him.
Rohit sat ashen-faced in front of an irate Mr.Lad. He had never seen his coach this angry. Lad lashed out at Rohit for squandering his life; he had lost focus and had stopped giving his cricket practice its due. Rohit barely spoke a word during all this time. Once Lad had cooled down, Rohit stood up and said ‘Sir, I promise you, I will never again give you a reason to be angry at me’. With this, he headed out to the cricket practice ground.
Over the next several months, Rohit would always be the first to turn up at the nets to practice and be amongst the last to leave. The boy wonder resumed his form, went on to head India’s cricket team as captain. Rohit has rarely wavered from his 10-hour strong practice sessions on a daily basis. Each time you look at his photo with a trophy, remember the long and grueling hours of practice he puts in.
Success = Loads of practice hours + Good Coaches + a Little Talent + a Spot of Luck
Podcasts to listen to
History is terribly boring if it is all about years, names and wars. It is absolutely fascinating if it were stories of people, the choices they made and how these choices led to victories and / or losses.
Our new episode as part of the ‘Queens who ruled India’ series is about Rudramadevi. This episode is in a Gamified form - ‘Are you series or joking’, through which we unravel stories about her life. You don’t need to know anything about the queen to be a part of the game. Guess the answers along the way with the hints! To listen to this 14 min episode, click below.
Also, we will recording a new set of podcast episodes on Space, Dogs and Science. If you would like to be a part of them, drop me a note by clicking here.
Have questions for me? Drop them in the comment section. I'd be delighted to explore the answers and share them with you
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