When Rohit helped a Sri Lankan fan

Subhash Rajta

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 12

“How's your friend?” Rohit Sharma asked a little man, who had been screaming words of encouragement for the Indian players, as he walked out of the nets. Turned out the man was a Sri Lankan, a travelling supporter of the team. So why was he cheering for the Indian side? “I know Rohit, Virat and many other players from their U-19 days.  I'm friends with most of them,” said Gayan Senanayaka.  He appeared particularly generous towards Sharma and he had a good reason for it. “I had a fellow Sri Lankan (Mohamed Nilam) travelling with me during the Test series,” he said. 

“In Delhi, he got a call from home that his father had been hospitalised. He needed to get home as quickly as possible but he had booked a return ticket for a much later date. When Rohit got to know about it, he immediately called up a travel agent and booked him on the first possible flight, bearing the entire expenses,” said Senanayaka. No wonder, he showed up at the Indian nets to cheer up his “friends”.  

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni also gave his ardent fan, Ram Babu, a reason to smile. “I wanted his jersey. He has asked me to collect it from his hotel room,” said the beaming fan.

No joy for Dharamveer 

Another fan, though, was in distress and angry. Dharamveer Pal, captain of the differently abled Indian cricket team, had been a regular at India matches, serving as a ball boy. Recently though, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) instructed all state associations not to allow him inside the ground after an individual, in a Facebook post, criticised the board for employing differently abled person as a ball boy. “I don't know what that person was thinking,” said an enraged Dharamveer. “I used to do it because I liked doing it, I loved supporting the team the way I could. If that person feels so much for us, why doesn't he write about the handicapped people struggling at bus stands, railway stations?”

“Anyway, it's not going to keep me away from matches. If I can't enter the grounds, I will watch the game from the stands,” fumed the cricketer.