Mumbai: Cricketer Rohit Sharma addresses the gathering during the inauguration of a stand after him at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)
Former India Test and T20I captain Rohit Sharma has revealed his father’s reaction after he announced his retirement from Test cricket.“He appreciates red-ball cricket a lot and, obviously, was a little disappointed when I announced my retirement, but was happy as well at the same time,” Rohit said at the launch of Pujara’s wife Puja’s book ‘The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife’ in Mumbai on Thursday.Rohit recalled the struggles made by their parents to support their careers.“Since the day I was born to now, the support of my mother and father has been immense. I know the sacrifices they’ve made for me and my brother to do what we needed to do in our lives.
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“But when you sit back and think about it, you really appreciate what parents go through. When you’re at that age, you don’t realize, but now, when I sit back and think about it, you understand,” he said.Rohit further explained how his father was involved in his cricket and his obsession with Test cricket.“He worked in a transport company. My father was very much involved in sacrificing things so that, you know, we can have our life,” said Rohit.“My father always, since day one, has been a fan of Test cricket; he doesn’t like this new-age cricket.“I still remember the day I scored 264 in an ODI, he was like, ‘Okay, well played, well done.’ There was no such excitement from him that it was a world record and all of that.
“But even if I used to get good 30s or 40s or 50s or 60s in Test cricket, he used to talk to me about it in detail. So that’s the kind of love he had for the game.“He has obviously seen me go up the ranks. You play age-group cricket, then you pass on to U-19, and then you go to Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy, India A, and I’ve done all of that. So he has seen my journey through that.“I have made it to the Indian team, playing red-ball cricket, not so much white-ball cricket, but that’s how the team used to get picked.“Back in the day, you do well in red-ball cricket and you find yourself first in ODI cricket and then into Test cricket. Now it’s a different story. So my father has seen me playing a lot of cricket with the red ball, obviously.“That’s my father, and he has obviously played a huge role in wherever I am today, you know, without their help,” he said.
