From No. 19 to 45: Rohit Sharma recalls story behind iconic jersey number

Mumbai: Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has shared the story behind choosing the iconic No. 45 jersey, recalling how his mother helped him settle on the number.

Rohit, who hosts the gaming reality show ‘Family Full House with Rohit Sharma’, spoke about the personal significance of the number, which traces back to his early cricketing days.

During a conversation on the show, actor Rahul Lohani asked Rohit about the significance of the number 45, saying, “Sir, 45 number jersey dekhte hi ya sunte hi samajh aa jaata hai logon ko ki Hitman aa gaya hai, par ye 45 number kyun choose kiya aapne, sir?”

Recounting how he initially chose a different number, Rohit said, “It was a very simple logic. When I played cricket in a jersey for the first time, because when you wear a jersey, you have to choose a number. So people had already chosen all the numbers, number 5, number 8, number 9. I wanted a single-digit number, but everyone had already chosen. So, the only number left for me was 19. Because I just liked the number 19. So I put on the number 19 and I played too, in the Under-19.”

However, Rohit realised that he would have to reconsider his choice if he went on to represent India. Explaining how he learnt this, he said, “Then after that, I think we were playing together at that time, but I can’t remember the name right now. They told me, ‘Hey brother, this is Under-19, you will play in the India team, you can’t take this number.’ So I said, ‘Why?’ dude, and he said, ‘It’s Rahul Dravid’s number,’ and Rahul Dravid was playing with number 19 at that time, and he was the captain”.

Rohit then sought his mother’s advice. “So right after that, immediately in the evening, I reached the hotel and called mom. I told Mom, ‘Mom, I can’t play with this number.’ Now you tell me which number I should play with. So, mom picked this number ’45’ for me”.

“Mom told me, ‘Play with number 9, it will be good for you’. The number 9 had gone, I didn’t want to play with the number 27. So I was really liking 4 and 5 being around. So I also gave this feedback to my mom that 4-5 looks much better, so I said, ‘Mom, I’ll take this number. This is also 9, and the number on the jersey 4-5 will look very good too’”, he added.

‘Family Full House with Rohit Sharma’ is available on Sony Entertainment Television and is streaming on Sony LIV.