Over the years, a picture of India captain Rohit Sharma driving around his predecessor Virat Kohli on a bike at the Dambulla International Stadium has done the rounds multiple times across social media platforms. With the photo dating back to India-Bangladesh Asia Cup 2010 contest, Sharma and Kohli were riding on former batter Gautam Gambhir‘s Player of the Match award after having failed individually.
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Sharma, however, never enjoyed the privilege and joy of having a girl as the pillion rider during the early years of his fame as an international cricketer. Not that his looks or personality did not correspond with his repute, there was another strong reason why no girl ever agreed to sit behind him on his bike.
During an interaction with Star Sports around 14 years ago, the Mumbai batter had revealed how he used to enjoy the thrill of riding his bikes at a notable velocity. Claiming to have even touched the 180 km/h mark, Sharma remarked that the same was good enough a reason for girls to refuse riding pillion while he drove his Honda CBR600RR.
“I have never taken a girl along with me on the bike because girls are really afraid of sitting behind me on it. You might have seen it in the movies, but it’s not the same in real life. The speed with which I ride my bike, I’m afraid no girl will ever like to sit behind me,” Sharma said on Star Sports’ special segment called One Dayers.
Not on a bike though, but a happily married Rohit is quite often spotted driving around with wife Ritika Sajdeh in swanky cars. In August this year, he was greeted by fans and paparazzi when they had arrived at the Adidas store in Mumbai on his Lamborghini Urus.
Rohit Sharma Used To Drive Around Suresh Raina And Praveen Kumar On His Honda CBR
During the above mentioned interaction, Sharma had also reminisced driving around fellow Indian internationals in Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar on the roads of Mumbai back in the day. No points for guessing, Sharma was implicitly trying to imply or boast about his rash bike driving skills.
“In the Indian team, I have drove around PK [Praveen Kumar] a couple of times. They had arrived at my home – both PK and Suresh Raina. Not only the two, but I have also drove my teammates from Mumbai as well. So, if you meet them some day, do ask them. They’ll tell you better about the manner in which I drive,” Sharma told broadcaster Dinesh Chopra.
In another segment of the same interview, Rohit’s father Gurunath Sharma had also expressed his apprehension with regard to his son speeding on a bike, and exclaimed to have always advised him to have the same under control.
His father’s concerns were genuine enough as his rash driving tendencies were not only limited to the two-wheelers. Readers must note that his youth energy used to compel him to drive his BMW E60 car at a speed as high as 220 km/h, if his own words are to be believed.
As far as his love for bikes are concerned, while it cannot be confirmed whether Sharma still owns the Honda CBR600RR or not, he does have a Suzuki Hayabusa super bike worth around INR 17 lakh under his possession at present. Mumbai Indians skipper had also purchased the likes of Ducati 1098 and Yamaha YZF-R1 in the past.
