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Rohit Sharma's nine-year-old tweet about "leading" a team in Jaipur and reveling the "added responsibility" has gone viral on social media. Fans on Twitter dug out the old post ahead of India's first T20I against New Zealand, drawing incredible yet obvious parallels between the comment and the current scenario.
At the time of the post, Rohit Sharma was set to lead Mumbai for the first time against Rajasthan at the KL Saini Ground in Jaipur. Nine years later, he will lead the national team for the first time as a full-time T20I captain against New Zealand at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in the same city today.
Here's what Rohit Sharma said in the tweet:
"Touched down in jaipur and yes I will be leading the side, looking forward to the added responsibility :)"
In that Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan, the then 25-year-old had scored a 141-ball 79, including 10 fours and two sixes while batting at no.4.
Interestingly, other participants in the match included Indian team regulars Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur, as well as Dhawal Kulkarni and Aditya Tare. Current Indian Women's head coach Ramesh Powar and Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar featured in the match as well.
"What Rohit Sharma has achieved in the last 14 years is phenomenal" - Rahul Dravid
Meanwhile, speaking on a similar subject to Rohit Sharma's growth as a cricketer, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid recently said that the opening batter has been "phenomenal" since his debut.
Dravid remarked Rohit Sharma has carried the legacy of Mumbai and India with "grace and class."
Dravid said:
"We all knew that Rohit was going to be special. We could just see that he was a very special talent. That I would so many years later be working with him that I never thought about or envisaged... but honestly, the way he has grown as a leader, as a person over these last 14 years now. What he's achieved both as an India player and as a leader for the Mumbai Indians is phenomenal. Having to carry the legacy of obviously Mumbai cricket and Indian cricket is not an easy one and he's done it with a lot of grace and class."
The first T20I will kick off at 7:00 PM and Rohit Sharma will walk out for the toss at 6:30 PM alongside New Zealand's stand-in captain Tim Southee.
