Rohit, Dhawan open up about their friendship off the field
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been opening the batting for India since the 2013 Champions Trophy. They have had immense success doing so, scoring 4,802 runs together in 107 opening partnerships. But they have known each other from well before that, as Rohit Sharma stated in the latest edition of the series, ‘Open Nets with Mayank’.
The duo, who stand 4th in the list of the most runs in opening partnerships in One Day International Cricket, talked extensively about their relationship over the years. Rohit, who made his debut for India in 2007, but was formulated into a makeshift opening batsman 6 years later which turned into a masterstroke, said, “More than anything on the field, we share a great relationship off the field. Knowing each other so well, understanding each other’s comforts and discomforts, that is very important. We shared rooms together when we went on India-A tours. So we have got a lot of history together. As a person, we both know each other quite well and that helps a lot on the field.”
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Shikhar Dhawan, the more specialist opener of the two, admitted the same and hoped they continue to perform for India in the coming years as well.
“We clicked on the field from day one and especially after we started opening for India in the 2013 Champions Trophy. However, we shared a good friendship even before that, right from the U-19 days. So that comfort reflected during our partnerships on the field. It has been a beautiful journey with him. I have enjoyed it thoroughly and hopefully we can carry it for another few years,” said Dhawan.
The duo and Mayank Agarwal went on to have lots of other discussions. Here is the link to the entire episode: