During these unprecedented times where all kinds of sports have been suspended, cricketers have resorted to social media to pass their time. Indian off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been doing Instagram live sessions with his contemporary players and other legends of the game regularly in what he calls himself ‘Reminiscence With Ash’. Latest guest on this live session was Indian limited overs vice captain Rohit Sharma. There he revealed how he got the nickname “Hitman”.
Ever since his promotion to the top of the order in 2013 he has been doing wonders for India in limited overs. It was during this time that he got the now famous nickname ‘Hitman’.
So it was quite obvious that Ashwin asked him about the same. He asked him about the origin of the nickname “Hitman”. At first, the off-spinner hilariously questioned whether he was a fan of WWE wrestler “Bret the Hitman Hart”.
Rohit become one of the pillars of the Indian team after his masterclass against Australia in 2013. That seven match ODI series was a run-fest and it had reached the decider at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Batting first, India blasted themselves to 383, headlined by the 33-year old’s 209 off 158 balls that included 12 fours and six sixes. It was after this match one of the presenter gave him the nickname ‘Hitman’.
“209 when I scored that runs and I was walking back to the pavilion and obviously they called me for that flash interview after the innings got over and I was really very tired. I told the media manager I can’t go now; please take someone else. He said ‘this is kind of a record, you have to come and it goes worldwide and I said okay I’ll come’. I went down and met PD, a broadcaster, who told me ‘Man, you played like a hitman’.”
“That’s how it started and then Ravi Bhai was there towards the end of the presentation and he introduced me like that ‘They call him a hitman’. I think I was the man of the series in that tournament so he was interviewing me and he called me “Hitman” and that’s how it started.” the right-handed batsman said.
Handing over the reigns
During the candid chat, the Mumbai batsman spoke about a lot of things including his first captaincy stint with Mumbai Indians in 2013. He also revealed how Ricky Ponting backed him to lead the side ahead of Dinesh Karthik.
For more cricket news, click