Revealed: When Rohit Sharma was in a state of panic

NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma's focus at the crease when opening the innings in ODI cricket has become his hallmark - he is currently at seventh place in India's all-time run tally for openers - and he is known for big scores, as evidence by him being the only batsman in the history of ODIs to score two double-centuries.
But did you know that a few days before his engagement in December 2015, the hugely talented batsman was in a state of panic?
In the latest episode of stand-up comedian and cricket humourist Vikram Sathaye's digital premium show 'What The Duck 2', which streams today, his friend and India and Mumbai team-mate Ajinkya Rahane has revealed a humorous incident related.
"I have several Rohit stories, and this particular one is from his wedding day. He had forgotten his engagement ring in the hotel room and when we got to the airport, he realised it. When he did, Rohit was in such a state of panic, he was so nervous. He went to our team manager and told him what had happened, and asked him to immediately call the hotel reception and inform them that the ring had been forgotten in his room," says Rahane.

"We were all seated in the airport lounge and about to board the flight when eventually Rohit's ring was brought to him. I have never seen Rohit more stressed out, than on that day. No doubt he is immensely talented on the cricket field, but there are still some areas where he needs talent," says the 29-year-old with a laugh.
Later during the interview, Rahane also discloses how the night before he first captained India in an ODI series in Zimbabwe in July 2015, he practised tossing the coin for 45 minutes.
"I had given a lot of attention towards my preparation for that series … on my batting, my fielding, but at that time I was thinking about the toss. I sat in my hotel room and for 45 minutes I tossed a coin, and kept losing. In cricket you need to prepare for everything, and on that day I was only focused on the toss," he says.
As it turned out the next day at the Harare Sport Club, Rahane called heads and lost the toss. However, India won the match by four runs, with the stand-in skipper scoring 34 off 49 balls. Rahane lost the toss in the second match too, but India won by 62 runs to claim the series, and he made 63 off 83 balls. It didn't get better for him at the toss in the final game, which he lost once more. Again Zimbabwe fielded, again India won - this time by 83 runs - but this time Rahane made only 15.
The episode of 'What The Duck 2' will stream on Viu, the video-on-demand service. The show can be watched exclusively on the Viu app available on Android or iOS.