Lee didn’t let me sleep, never wanted to face Steyn, says Rohit

India limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma named the most difficult bowlers he has come face-to-face over the years in international cricket.

Rohit has revealed he was troubled by former Australia fast-bowler Brett Lee’s express pace during his early days while dealing with South Africa speedster Dale Steyn’s swing felt like a ‘nightmare’ to him.

“One bowler is Brett Lee because he didn’t let me sleep the previous night on my first tour to Australia in 2007, as I was thinking how to play this bowler who bowls in excess of 150 kmph,” Rohit said during Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

“In 2007, Brett Lee was at his peak. I used to watch him closely and noticed that he was consistently bowling at the speed of around 150-155 kmph. The thought of a youngster like me facing that kind of speed took away my sleep.

“I have two favourite bowlers who I never wanted to face, one was Brett Lee and the other was Dale Steyn. I never wanted to face Steyn because playing pace and swing at the same time was a nightmare, it was just unreal,” he added.

Rohit also lavished praise on current Australia fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood, whom he referred to as being very disciplined with his line and length. India are currently slated to travel Down Under later this year for a Test series and Rohit stated he will have to ‘mentally prepare’ himself for the prospect of coming up against Hazlewood.

“Currently, someone whom I don’t want to face in Test cricket would be Josh Hazlewood because he’s disciplined and does not move away from that length,” Rohit said.

“He does not give you loose balls. I have watched him enough to understand that. I know for a fact that if I have to go to Australia to play a Test, then I have to be mentally prepared to be disciplined while facing Josh.”

Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir believes the credit for Rohit Sharma’s meteoric rise in white-ball cricket must be given to former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Since making his debut in 2007, Rohit was languishing in the middle-order with consistency being his main issue.

Dhoni seemingly took note of Rohit’s hidden talent and gave him a long rope. He then promoted Rohit as opener in 2013 and that move worked wonders for him as the right-hander has gone on to become one of the most lethal top-order batsmen in white-ball cricket.

“Where Rohit Sharma is today, it is because of M.S. Dhoni,” Gambhir told Sports Tak as per India Today.

“You can talk about the selection committee and team management, but if you do not have the backing from your captain then it is all useless. Everything is in the hands of the captain.

“How Dhoni backed Rohit Sharma over a period of time, I don’t think any other player has been given such support,” he added.

Earlier, Gambhir had described Rohit as the best white-ball cricketer in the world. In his birthday wish for Rohit, Gambhir wrote: “Happy Birthday to the best white-ball cricketer in the world Rohit Sharma! Have a great year ahead!!”

“Don’t know about that Gauti bhai. But loving your work,” Rohit responded to the high praise from his former teammate.