Before Dravid, Rohit offered to deduct amount from own chunk for support staff: Report

The outgoing Rahul Dravid once again demonstrated that he is an even better human being than a great cricketer and coach by relinquishing a bonus of ₹2.5 crore and settling for the same prize money as the rest of the support staff. 

But did you know, before Dravid, it was India captain Rohit Sharma’s big-hearted proposal which ensured that support staff members who were underpaid, weren’t left disappointed? Captain Rohit and coach Dravid were to be paid ₹5 crore each as part of the ₹125 crore prize money announced for the Indian team for winning the T20 World Cup, but even as Dravid’s pay-cut act received a lot of plaudits, Rohit’s gesture cannot be ignored.

The prize money declaration was made on July 1, but it raised a few concerns. Since the ₹125 crore were to be distributed among players, coaches, reserve players, as per the initial breakdown, some fellow support staff members were expected to get a lot less. These members include the throwdown specialist, analysts, masseuse, physio and others.

That is when Rohit stepped up and demanded equal pay for them. In a report carried out by Dainik Jagran, a player revealed to
 the daily on the chartered flight back from Barbados to India that Rohit was willing to give up some of his own chunk of money to ensure that everyone got paid handsomely and equally.

As it turns out, if Dravid’s gesture meant that batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip were rewarded with ₹2.5 crore each, Rohit’s act played its part in the rest of the support staff landing ₹2 crore each. Rohit did not mention a particular member for whom he was willing to make the sacrifice, but nonetheless, the player revealed that these are signs of a brilliant captain, who thinks about everyone involved in the team’s success. It was only after Rohit’s firm stance that the BCCI decided to distribute ₹2 crore each to strength and conditioning coaches, physios, analysts, and others.

Rohit’s generous offer is the reason why he is one of the most liked and respected captains in the history of Indian cricket. Ask Team India’s youngsters, and one would always hear them talk highly of Rohit, holding him in great regard. Indian cricket has witnessed some gifted skippers, including Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, but the respect Rohit commands is extremely unique and rare. Youngsters view him as the elder brother they can always count on.

This belief was further solidified when famous sports broadcaster Jatin Sapru, in a chat on the YouTube channel BeerBiceps, revealed that Rohit’s bros in the team are the youngsters who come in and play under him. Whether it’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel or anyone else, Rohit ensures he strikes the right bond with them. Based on the equation, he would scold the younger crop, but take them under his wings as well to ensure the best out of them.

“Rohit has humanised stardom. He is like that older brother who says, ‘I will give you an earful… in front of everyone, but I will hug you and love you too’. His vibe is different. Rohit’s bro in the cricketing world are the young guys. When Rohit was a youngster and came in around 2007, it’s possible that he didn’t get that kind of support because at that time, Indian cricket was going through a lot. So somewhere Rohit feels in his heart that all the youngsters that have come, he has to be responsible for them and handle them well,” Sapru said.