When Rohit Sharma made his ODI debut under current head coach Rahul Dravid in Ireland, 14 years back

Rohit Sharma, who is now a veteran of 43 Tests, 227 ODIs and 116 T20Is, was just a 20-year-old youngster making his ODI debut against Ireland in an one-off ODI in Belfast which Rahul Dravid-led India went on to win by nine wickets.

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid (left) with captain Rohit Sharma. (Source: Twitter)

Team India are heading into the three-match T20 series against New Zealand beginning in Jaipur on Wednesday (November 17) under a new captain Rohit Sharma and a new head coach Rahul Dravid. Incidentally, more than 14 years ago, it was back in 2007 when Rohit Sharma made his international debut in Ireland under current coach Dravid.

Rohit, who is now a veteran of 43 Tests, 227 ODIs and 116 T20Is, was just a 20-year-old youngster making his ODI debut against Ireland in an one-off ODI in Belfast which Dravid-led India went on to win by nine wickets. The Mumbai batter didn’t get an opportunity to come to the middle as Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir scripted a comprehensive win, scoring 73 not out and 80 not out respectively.

Ahead of their first game in charge together, Dravid and Rohit recalled their first interactions with each other. “Time certainly flies, I certainly remember the day when Rohit walked into the Indian dressing room for the first time. But I had met Rohit before that Ireland match during a Challenger Trophy match in Madras. We knew Rohit was always going to be special and it is lovely to see how he has grown as a person and a leader,” Dravid said during a virtual media conference in Jaipur on Tuesday (November 16).

“Everyone knew that Rohit had the talent but carrying the legacy of both Mumbai and Indian cricket is not easy by any means,” Dravid added.

Head Coach Rahul Dravid rekindles his first meeting with a young @ImRo45 & lauds the #TeamIndia T20I captain for his contribution towards the Indian cricket. #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/croLaIElLu

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2021

Rohit also recalled his first interaction with former India captain Dravid which was back in 2007 after the 50-over World Cup debacle for India. “The first time I interacted with Dravid was back in Bangalore during a batter’s camp ahead of India’s tour of Bangladesh. I was quietly doing my things because Piyush Chawla was the only one in the team in my age-group at that time. In Ireland, it was a dream to be part of the Indian dressing room with legends like Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly,” Rohit said.