Star batsman Rohit Sharma’s close friend and teammate, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha, recently talked about a humorous incident involving the legendary Rahul Dravid during a tour of Sri Lanka.
Ojha recently recalled a period of time when he, Rohit, and Yuvraj Singh were still relatively new to the world of international cricket. The incident occurred during a tour of Sri Lanka that included a star-studded Indian squad that included legends like Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, and Dravid. The former spinner talked about their senior player punishing them.
“Rohit and I were on a tour of Sri Lanka,” Pragyan Ojha recalled, recalling a humorous episode from the trip.
We were fresh to the squad and young. The team included Rahul Dravid, Dada (Sourav Ganguly), Anil bhai (Kumble), and Sachin (Tendulkar). The Taj Samundra was where we were staying. Yuvraj Singh, Rohit, and I used to eat together. Rahul bhai once instructed us to run in a vacant space outside the hotel. He was quoted by Critotoday as saying, “In reality, we were punished for taking a long time to eat our food.”
Yuvraj, meanwhile, rose to fame in white-ball cricket after being instrumental in India’s victories in the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2007 T20 World Cup. Ojha took 141 wickets in all forms throughout his illustrious international career. In contrast, Rohit has developed into one of India’s most successful leaders, leading the team to victories in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The 38-year-old batsman has been crucial in helping his team get off to a strong start in the IPL. He is now playing for the Mumbai Indians. Ojha had previously thought back on Rohit’s counsel to him when they were U19.
When we were playing U19 cricket, Rohit Sharma gave me the best advise. “We’ve reached the U19 level, so everyone wants to play for the country,” he remarked. However, you must be a match-winner if you want to play for India for a long time, Ojha stated.
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