Suniel Shetty opens up about his long-standing love for cricket and Rohit Sharma

Actor Suniel Shetty recalled his lifelong love for cricket and said he has followed Rohit Sharma since the cricketer was around 16. He also compared Rohit with Sir Viv Richards, while Rohit remembered meeting Suniel during an Indian Oil match

Mumbai: Actor Suniel Shetty has opened up about his deep love for cricket and his long-standing admiration for Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma.

During his appearance on ‘Family Full House with Rohit Sharma’, the ‘Hera Pheri’ actor recalled his passion for the sport and said he had been an avid cricket fan for years. He said he would even go out of his way to watch footage of pace bowlers at a time when cricket matches were not widely available on television.

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Talking about his love for cricket, Suniel Shetty said, “Main kitna bada cricket buff hoon woh duniya jaanti hai. Shayad jitna inhone cricket nahi khela hoga, utna maine khayalon mein khela hai. Pehle zamaane mein television pe aate nahi the, toh pace bowlers ko dekhne Indo-American Society jaata tha, aur unke rushes dekhne ke liye, unki clippings dekhne ke liye.”

The actor also recalled that Sir Viv Richards had always been his favourite cricketer and said he had been following Rohit since the latter was around 16 or 17.

He said, “Mere hamesha favourite cricketer rahe the aur aaj bhi mere favourite hi hain Sir Viv Richards. Aur main Rohit ko shayad jab se woh 16–17 saal ka tha, tab se follow karta aa raha hoon. Dr. PV Shetty Rohit ke baare mein hamesha baat karte the. Main hamesha dekhne jaata tha, baat karta tha. Chhota sa Rohit, but same hi game, same amount of time.”

Suniel also drew a comparison between Rohit and Richards, saying the Indian cricketer reminded him of the former West Indies star.

“Toh main uss waqt bhi bolta tha ki agar Sir Viv Richards ki koi mujhe yaad dilata hai, it’s Rohit Sharma. Same swag, woh Caribbean swag, yeh Desi swag,” he said.

Rohit, meanwhile, recalled his first memorable meeting with Suniel when he was around 16 and playing for Indian Oil.

“Mujhe abhi bhi yaad hai jo Suniel sir ne bataya ki main 16 saal ka tha aur main apni company ke liye khel raha tha, Indian Oil ke liye. Yeh match Bandra Kurla Complex mein ground mein ho raha tha, aur main bas pad up karke baitha tha, batting ke liye jaane ke liye. Tabhi mujhe pata chala ki sir wahan par aane wale hain. Toh maine bola, yeh kaunsa match hai? Yahan pe kyun aayenge?” Rohit recalled.

He added that Suniel’s love for cricket was evident when the actor attended the match and watched the game closely.

Rohit also remembered Suniel meeting his mentor PV Shetty during the match.

“Aur tab mujhe realise hua ki inhone abhi bataya ki itna cricket dekha hai inhone, aur khelte bhi the. Under-19 khela hai inhone. Jab main baitha tha aur Suniel sir aake baithe PV Shetty ke saath, jo mere mentor the. Unhone mujhe kaafi help ki mere younger days mein,” Rohit said.

“He told me, ‘Aapko inse milna chahiye, yeh bahut cricket pasand karte hain.’ Main bola, of course kaun nahi milna chahta. Lekin main dekh raha tha inko side se hi ki kar kya rahe hain yeh. Par inka dhyaan poora cricket pe tha ki yeh kitna accha shot khel raha hai,” he added.

‘Family Full House with Rohit Sharma’ airs every Saturday and Sunday on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV.