During the Delhi Test against Sri Lanka in December last year, Rohit Sharma had shown a great heart and helped an ardent island fan named ‘Mohammed Nilam’ with the quick arrangement of a ticket back to Colombo. Nilam, who was supposed to stay in India until Sri Lanka’s last T20I on 26th December 2017, had to rush back home to tend his ailing father A A Farook who needed a surgery for throat cancer.
At that point in time, Rohit had also promised a visit to Nilam’s home in Colombo and on Friday (March 16) India’s stand-in skipper in the ongoing Twenty-20 tri-series kept his promise.
“I know him (Nilam) for many years now. He has cheered for me for so long now. I still remember he was crying a day after the Test in India, telling me how his father was not feeling well,” Sharma told The Indian Express.
“These are the people who make who we are today. They are the ones who pray for you, they stand beside you in your bad times. I had told him in December that if I come to Sri Lanka this March for series, I will come to his house to see his father. Today, I could feel the happiness they got seeing me,” he added.
Ecstatic with Rohit Sharma’s gesture, Nilam said he didn’t have any money with him in India when he heard about his father’s health in December.
“Rohit is clean-hearted guy. I still remember the day when I got a call from my family that my father is not feeling well. Frankly, I didn’t have any money than and didn’t know anyone else also in India. The last moment flights are expensive, so Rohit got to know from Sudhir (the Sachin Tendulkar fan) and he called me to hotel. He handed me the tickets and money. Who will do this in today’s time?” Nilam quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
The passionate Lanka fan further went on to say that his loyalties always remain with Rohit whenever India play in this part of the world.
“It’s not that only Rohit knows me in the Indian team, I know everyone but everybody knows that my loyalty towards Rohit is more than other players. If Sudhir is known as Tendulkar fan, I am known as Rohit’s number one fan,” Nilam added.
Having already qualified for the final in the Twenty-20 tri-series, India will now have a showdown against Bangladesh on Sunday (March 18).
