IPL 2022: How a series of chance decisions led Rohit Sharma to where he belongs

The first time Rohit Sharma tried out for a cricket camp in a suburb of Mumbai, he tried out for bowling - a chance decision that contributed to bringing him cricketing glory. (Source: Times Now)

When Rohit Sharma leads his boys into the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai today to play the team's first match of the Tata IPL 2022, he will do so for the ninth time in his career. Sharma became captain of the Mumbai Indians in 2013 and has led his team to five title finishes. Sharma is also the captain of the Indian cricket team, a job he’s had to wait patiently to bag.

Today, Sharma is recognised wherever he goes. Brands queue up to sign him on as ambassador. Kids want to grow up to be him. Rohit Sharma is living the dream that thousands have had but only a handful manage to fulfil.

This wasn’t always the case.

Long before he became captain of the Indian cricket team, before he was captain of the Mumbai Indians, before he was selected to play for India, indeed before he even dreamed that any of this was possible, Rohit Sharma was just another boy playing gully cricket in a lower middle-class neighbourhood in a Mumbai suburb.

In fact, Rohit Sharma’s origins are even humbler. Born to parents in financial distress, Sharma was adopted by his grandfather, who brought him to the neighbourhood that’s now claimed him as its own.

Over time, as he discovered he was good with the bat, Sharma played at the local weekend cricket tournaments, pocketing ₹50-₹100 as cash prize for every match his team won. At the behest of his neighbours, his uncle agreed to send him to a summer training camp in a school nearby. Things were so difficult, Sharma Sr had to borrow money to pay the camp fees.

But Sharma had to qualify to get into the camp. On a bright sunny day when temperatures in Mumbai tend to touch the high 30s, Sharma looked at the long queues at the tryouts. Seeing that the number of kids lining up to be bowlers was significantly lower than those wanting to be batters, he queued up to bowl. Turned out he wasn’t half bad a bowler either and so he got in.

It wouldn’t be long before a local coach spotted Sharma’s talent for the game and managed to land him a scholarship. All Sharma had to do was change schools. For a child, leaving his friends behind for new ones was heart-breaking. Sharma did it anyway. He figured, this way his family wouldn't be burdened with his expenses.

To resort to the cliché of the rest being history would be a disservice to the hours of hard work that Sharma put into honing his skills and becoming the best there is in the game. Yet, Sharma himself acknowledges that it was a series of decisions – some that were taken for him and others that he took himself – that led him to where he is today.

This is true of several elite athletes in India. Neeraj Chopra had no clue what a javelin was till he was well into his teens, trying to lose weight doing rounds of the playground where some throwers were training. He got in because he was transfixed by the sight of flying javelins!

Bhavani Devi, India’s first fencer to land an Olympic berth, similarly had no idea about fencing even when she signed up for the sport that was introduced as part of a state government initiative in her school.

Stories such as these are many in India but exceptions in the world of elite sports where children as young as two are trained to believe that they were put on this planet to be the best in their sport.

But why am I telling you these stories?

Not to peddle destiny, for sure. But perhaps as a reminder that where we are today is because of a long series of choices we’ve made over the years.

In our less productive moments, even the best of us are prone to wonder where we would be if we’d made different choices. Could we have been in another city or country, would we be making more money, or would we have had our happily-ever-after with that one great love of our life?

But here’s my submission: just for a change, could we instead reflect on where we are and the choices that we made that got us here? I have a feeling we may not just end up being thankful – like Sharma, Chopra, and Bhavani – but also more content with our lot, and therefore, better at what we do.

Could that perhaps be the key to overall happiness, even excellence, instead of the relentless self-flagellation for all the lost opportunities and the inevitable bitterness that follows? I’d love to hear what you think. Post your responses on the thread under the tweet containing this article, on LinkedIn, or Facebook.

Till then, Happy IPL!