Team India captain, Rohit Sharma, who recently retired from T20Is, is known for his calm and composed demeanor, both on and off the field. The Mumbai batter who possesses a brilliant cricketing mind, also carries a reputed profile, but is also known for his jolly attitude on the cricketing field.
While this remains in one place, reputed umpire, Anil Chaudhary recently opened up on Rohit Sharma’s character. Speaking in a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, Chaudhary revealed that Rohit might look casual, but he is a smart player and has a great cricketing knowledge. “Rohit aapko lagta casual hai par bohot smart player hai. Iss chakkar mein na padna aap. He is very smart. Cricket IQ bahut achha hai uska, means game ki samajh. (Rohit may seem casual, but he’s a very smart player, don’t get fooled thinking otherwise; his game sense is very good),” umpire Anil Chaudhary said.
“Uski batting se idea nahi aata aapko. Jab wo batting karta hai to lagta hai 120 (kmph) pw bowling ho rahi hai. Jab dusra batting karta hai to lagta hai 160 bowling ho rahi hai… Wo bahut sari appealon mein aa jata hai aur kehta hai ‘abey rehne de’. Who lagta casual hai par casual bilkul nahi hai. (You can’t guess his sharp mind fro his batting. When he’s batting, it seems someone is bowling at 120 kmph, but when someone else is batting, the speed seems like 160 kmph. He gets involved in a lot of appeals and then says ‘let it be’. He may seem casual, but he’s not casual at all),” Anil Chaudhary further added.
Watch umpire Anil Chaudhary’s startling revelation about Rohit Sharma:
“Rohit jaise player ke liye umpiring karna bada easy hai. Ya to out hota hai ya to not out hota hai. Seedha seesha kaam hai uska. Guchur guchur khelta hi nahi hai wo. Who out hai ya not out hai. Aise player ko umpiring karna bahot easy hai. Usko dekhna aap, ya toh who saaf hoga ya saaf not out hoga. (Umpiring for a player like Rohit is very easy; he’s either out or not out, it’s straightforward with him. He doesn’t play confusingly),” he further added.
Anil Chaudhary hails Rohit Sharma’s gameplay; recalls a match when Sharma scored 200-plus runs
“Woh natural hai. Uska footwork bahut acha hai. Who jaldi aage nahi bhagta, peeche rehta hai, bowl ka wait karta hai. Ek cheez hoti hai cricket mein ball sense. Usko zabardast ball-sense hai. Usko pata hai kis ball pe aage jaana hai. Uska short-arm pull dekho; baap re baap! (He’s natural. His footwork is excellent. He doesn’t rush forward; he stays back and waits for the ball. In cricket, there is something called ball-sense. He has an incredible ball-sense. He knows exactly when to move forward on a ball. Look at his short-arm pull short. Unbelievable!),” he added.
The 59-year-old further went on to recall a match where Rohit Sharma scored 200 plus runs. The esteemed ICC umpire, who served as a TV umpire in that match, added, “Mai ek match pe TV umpire tha. He scored 200 plus. Jo balls dusro ke liye yorker thi, uspe wo chhakke maar raha tha. I think Kolkata mein match tha. Wo different class hai. Who lagta lazy hai, par bahut idea hai usko. (I was a TV umpire on one match. He scored 200 plus runs. The balls that were yorkers for others, he was hitting those for sixes. I think the match was in Kolkata. He’s in a different class. He may seem lazy, but he has a lot of idea).”