Latest news with #HarrisShield
News18
5 days ago
- Sport
- News18
Rohit Shamra's Childhood Coach Reveals: 'First Saw Him As A Bowler, He Was...'
Rohit Sharma started as a bowler at 12. His coach, Dinesh Lad, saw his batting talent, making him a top white-ball cricket opener. India's ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, is widely regarded as one of the most destructive opening batters in white-ball cricket, known for breaking records and dominating attacks. Despite his celebrated batting prowess, his journey to the top began quite differently. According to his childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, Rohit initially started his cricketing career as a bowler at the age of 12. Recalling his first encounter with Rohit during a match against his own team, Lad said he was immediately impressed and urged Rohit's uncle to enroll the youngster in his school. 'I first saw him as a bowler, he was about 12 years old. I saw him playing a match against us. Then I told his uncle (Chacha) to get him admitted to my school. The school started in 1995, and I saw Rohit in 1999. He took admission that year. In the first year, he was in under 14. During practice, I kept making him bowl. Next year, Rohit went to 8th standard and was 14 years old," Rohit's coach Lad revealed during a podcast. How Rohit Turned From Bowler To Batter? However, Lad admitted he made a mistake by not testing Rohit's batting skills early on. The turning point came when he noticed Rohit practicing in the nets. 'I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn't know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake," he continued. Rohit made an immediate impact, scoring a fluent 40 runs from number seven in a match, despite the team's loss. Impressed, Lad began promoting him up the order during nets, eventually placing him in the second and third positions. The young Rohit displayed remarkable batting talent, prompting Lad to advise him to focus on batting while continuing to bowl. 'He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too," Lad added. That decision would shape the career of one of India's greatest openers, transforming a young bowler into a batting powerhouse who would go on to dominate world cricket. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Sport
- NDTV
"I Saw Him As A Bowler": Rohit Sharma's Coach Shares Intriguing Childhood Tale
India's ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, went on to register his name in history as one of the most destructive opening batters in white-ball cricket. Rohit eventually made a name for himself as an opener but started his career as a middle-order batter in the national team. However, Rohit's childhood coach Dinesh Lad has revealed that the Hitman actually started his career as a bowler, at the age of 12. It was later that his talent with the bat came to the fore and the change in role took place. "I first saw him as a bowler, he was about 12 years old. I saw him playing a match against us. Then I told his uncle (Chacha) to get him admitted to my school. The school started in 1995, and I saw Rohit in 1999. He took admission that year. In the first year, he was in under 14. During practice, I kept making him bowl. Next year, Rohit went to 8th standard and was 14 years old," Rohit's coach Lad said during a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani. Lad admitted that it was his mistake to have not given Rohit an opportunity to bat when he first started coaching under him. "I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn't know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake," he continued. "He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too," Lad said.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Rohit Sharma's childhood coach admitted mistake for not identifying IND great's talent early: ‘Didn't know it was him…'
Rohit Sharma has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific batters in Indian cricket history, but when he started playing cricket at a young age, his plans were completely different. The swashbuckling opener, who holds the record of the highest-ever individual score in ODI cricket history - 264, also has an IPL hat-trick in his kitty to brag about. Rohit achieved the feat with the ball when he used to play at Deccan Chargers, but he still remains the only player in the league history to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the tournament. Early in his international journey, Rohit Sharma occasionally filled in as a part-time spinner, especially after grabbing headlines in the IPL with a hat-trick(AFP) His childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, also asserted that when he scouted the veteran batter, he was 12 years old, and he used to train him for his bowling. 'I first saw him as a bowler, he was about 12 years old. I saw him playing a match against us. Then I told his uncle (Chacha) to get him admitted to my school. The school started in 1995, and I saw Rohit in 1999. He took admission that year. In the first year, he was in under 14. During practice, I kept making him bowl. Next year, Rohit went to 8th standard and was 14 years old," Rohit's coach Lad said on a podcast with Gaurav Mangalani. Early in his international journey, he occasionally filled in as a part-time spinner, especially after grabbing headlines in the IPL with a hat-trick. Over time, he collected nine wickets in One-Day Internationals, two in Test matches, and one in T20 Internationals. However, as his reputation as a fearless, free‑scoring opener grew, his bowling responsibilities gradually diminished. Lad shed light on how he discovered Rohit's batting talent, admitting his mistake of not identifying it earlier. 'I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn't know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake,' he continued. 'I felt Rohit Sharma had a very good talent for batting' Lad further revealed that Rohit's 40-run knock at number 7 promoted him to the batting line-up. He advised Rohit to concentrate on his batting, a shift that ultimately changed the course of his career. 'He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too,' Lad said.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Childhood coach explains Rohit Sharma's transition from off-spinner to batter: ‘I told his uncle to get him admitted to my school…'
Rohit Sharma is the only batter in the history of the Indian Premier League to have a hat-trick and a century to his name. Although he has multiple centuries in the IPL but he has mentioned in the past on podcasts how much he enjoyed his hat-trick for the Deccan Chargers in 2009. However, as his career progressed, he limited himself to rolling his arm over during the games, but he started his cricketing aspirations as an off-spinner. 'I felt he should be kept in both the under-16 and under-14 teams. One day, while entering the school, I saw a boy knocking (batting). From outside, I saw the bat was coming very straight and good. I didn't know it was Rohit at first. When I went inside, I asked him if he was batting. He said yes, sir. Then I gave him some batting in the nets at number six or seven. Before that, I had never given him batting practice. That was my mistake,' he continued. 'He batted well. In a match, he went in at number seven and scored 40 runs. Very good 40, but unfortunately, we lost the match. When the under-14 practice started after the Harris Shield, the Giles Shield practice was on, I started giving him batting at second and third position in nets. The way he was batting, I felt he had a very good talent for batting. So it was important for him to focus on it. I told him to focus more on batting but keep bowling too,' Lad said. Rohit, the batter, ended up scoring 4301 runs from 67 Tests, 11168 runs from 273 ODIs, and 4231 runs in 159 T20Is for India
Mint
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Prithvi Shaw reveals how Sachin Tendulkar's words pulled him back on track: ‘I still believe in you'
Prithvi Shaw has been in the limelight since 2013, when, aged just 14, he scored 546 runs in the Harris Shield school cricket match. Since then, the child prodigy has gone on to break multiple records, even leading India to victory in the 2018 U-19 World Cup alongside prominent players such as Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh and Abhishek Sharma. The batter soon earned a place in the Indian team and was compared to Sachin Tendulkar himself. However, the story did not have a happy ending: the cricketer was dropped from the Mumbai Ranji team last year and snubbed at the IPL 2025 mega auctions in Jeddah. The batter struggled with discipline issues, and he later admitted that he had been in bad company during a difficult period. During this difficult period, Shaw revealed that very few people reached out to him, but one of them was his mentor, the Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who refused to lose faith in him. In an interview News24, Shaw revealed that Sachin still believes in him and recently told him to come back to the right track. "Sachin sir knows about my journey. Arjun and I have been friends since we were 8-9 years old. We've played together, grown up together. Sir was also there sometimes. I had a word with him a little while ago too. Hardly 2 month ago. He was practicing at the MIG. And I was there too. I spoke to him then too. When things go awry and you drift away, you need that mentor, who can light a spark into you. He still believes in me. He said 'Prithvi, I still believe in you, and I'll continue to do so'. Because he has seen me grow up. Even today, he tells me 'Sahi track pe aa ja, jaise pehle tha' (Come back on the same track as earlier). Everything is possible in the next 13-14 years. So he believes in me and that means a lot," Shaw told the TV channel.
