Hyderabad: India skipper Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad praised his ward on completing 10,000 runs in ODI cricket against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup Super Four stage at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Rohit Sharma, who resided in Borivali, a suburb in Mumbai and took early lessons from Dinesh Lad, who is also the coach of India all-rounder Shardul Tahkur, is the second fastest cricketer after star batter Virat Kohli to achieve this milestone.
"It's a very proud moment for all of us. It's an appreciable stat, achieving 10,000 runs feat in ODI cricket is a great thing. I feel I have succeded in my work," an elated Dinesh Lad told ETV Bharat.
When asked whether he ever thought that Rohit Sharma, who has also led Mumbai Indians to multiple IPL titles, would make it to the Indian team or lead the national team, Dinesh Lad replied in the negative.
"I never thought like that. He came to me when he was in seventh standard. I saw him as a bowler, but when he was in tenth standard, I promoted him to bat up the order. I thought he could play for the Indian team but never thought he would captain India or score over 10,000 runs in international cricket," added Dinesh Lad, whose son Siddesh also played for domestic giants Mumbai.
Rohit is the sixth Indian batter to score 10,000 ODI runs. The list is topped by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, who has over 18,000 runs to his name.
Also read: Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma climbs 10K mountain; becomes 6th Indian to achieve this feat
