Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been one of the best players for the Indian team for many years. However, not only as a player but as a captain he made a huge impact on the side which also included being supportive towards youngsters in the team – be it India or in IPL.

However, apart from Team India, he was the captain of Mumbai Indians and led the team to five IPL titles as well. Moreover, under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians made many youngsters’ future including Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Recalling one such incident about Rohit Sharma backing the youngsters in the side, former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel shared how Rohit saved Bumrah from being released by Mumbai Indians.

“Rohit is always with the players” – Parthiv Patel

“Rohit is always with the players, and the biggest examples of it are Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Bumrah joined MI in 2014, but when he played his first season in 2015, it didn’t turn out that well. MI had decided to drop Bumrah midway through the season, but Rohit felt this was one solid player and that they should keep him. And you saw how from 2016, Bumrah’s performance reached the next level,” Parthiv Patel told JioCinema.

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“Same with Hardik Pandya. When he joined in 2015, he became quite the rage but in 2016 he had a bad season. The thing is when you’re an uncapped player, franchises release you quickly and then assess how a player is performing in Ranji Trophy or other domestic matches before maybe taking them back. But Rohit did not let it happen. That’s why these guys went on to become the players that they did,” Parthiv Patel again stated.

However, Parthiv Patel was once a player in the RCB squad before becoming an expert in the game. He once shared about Bumrah to Virat Kohli who also revealed that he had once informed Kohli about the then-unknown bowler Jasprit Bumrah. As per the veteran, Kohli had responded in a rather ignorant manner as well.

Parthiv Patel opines on how Kohli ignored Bumrah

“In 2014, when I was at RCB, I told Kohli there’s this bowler named Bumrah. Have
a look at him. Virat replied saying ‘Chhor na yaar. Ye Bumrah-Vumrah kya karenge?’ (Leave it. What will such players do?)” Parthiv had said to Cricbuzz.

“When he was first picked, Bumrah played Ranji Trophy for the first 2-3 years. 2013 was his first year, and he didn’t have a good season in 2014. In 2015, it was so bad that there were discussion going on that he might have to be sent back home midseason. But, he slowly began improving and Mumbai Indians really backed him. It was his own hard work and such backing that really brought out the best in him,” Parthiv Patel concluded.