Former Indian international cricketer and current member of the governing council of the IPL, Pragyan Ojha, has hailed India and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, highlighting his incredible journey to the top of the cricketing world. Coming from a humble background, Sharma has fought through many hardships to get to the level he has currently reached, a fact that Ojha alluded to. Ojha has had a long association with the Indian opener, going back to their Under-15 cricketing days in the national camp. 

A record winner of the Indian Premier League with a staggering six titles, Sharma will be hoping for a much improved performance this season from his side, which failed to make the playoffs consecutively for the last couple of seasons. In fact, the Mumbai Indians earned themselves the dubious distinction of losing their first eight games in the tournament, the most by any team. Nevertheless, Sharma will be eager to come to the party in the 16th edition of the tournament, both as a leader, and as an individual. Get attractive Cricket betting odds for all IPL matches only on 1xBet.

Surprisingly, Rohit Sharma has not really set the stage alight in his IPL career, particularly in the last few seasons, with only one 400+ run campaign in the past six editions of the tournament. However, he has dominated attacks at the international level for a very long time, and it won’t come as a surprise should Rohit Sharma end up amongst the best players of the tournament. Ojha expressed his happiness about Sharma’s achievements, as he recalled the first time he met the Indian skipper. Enhance your sports viewing experience with 1xBet sports betting odds.

“When I first met Rohit in the U-15 national camp, everyone said he was a very special player. There, I played against him and took his wicket. Rohit being a typical Bombay guy, didn’t speak much but was aggressive when he played. In fact, I was very surprised as to why he was being so aggressive with me when we didn’t know each other! But after that our friendship began to grow. 

He was from a middle-class family and I remember he once got emotional when we discussed how his budget for cricket kits was restricted. In fact, he also delivered milk packets – of course that was really a long time ago – so that he could buy his kit. Now when I see him, I feel very proud of how our journey started and where we reached,” Ojha said, reminiscing their teenage days together.