John Abraham reveals he trained under same coach as Rohit Sharma

Bollywood actor John Abraham unveiled the Rotterdam Dockers jersey in Mumbai on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. The Rotterdam Dockers are part of the European T20 Premier League, an ICC-sanctioned T20 franchise league. Abraham is among the co-owners of the franchise, alongside Faf du Plessis, Jonty Rhodes and Heinrich Klaasen.

During the jersey unveiling event, Abraham made a striking revelation about his cricket background and his connection to India's captain. He disclosed that Dinesh Lad, who serves as Rohit Sharma's batting coach, was also his own cricket coach during his playing days.

"He is Rohit Sharma's batting coach. He was my coach too. This is my gurudakshina to him. A lot of people look at me as just an actor. My batting coach is here, Lad sir. He coached me; he has also coached Rohit Sharma. He enjoyed my cover drive," Abraham said during a public appearance via Sportsnext.

Abraham's shared coaching connection with Rohit Sharma

Abraham's acknowledgement of Lad as his coach came during a moment when he was introducing the Rotterdam Dockers ownership group and the franchise's vision for the European T20 Premier League. The actor's statement highlighted the shared coaching lineage between himself and the Indian captain, underscoring Dinesh Lad's influence across different phases and contexts of Indian cricket.

Abraham's revelation connected his personal cricket journey to that of Rohit Sharma, demonstrating the coach's role in shaping batting skills across generations and different competitive backgrounds. The actor's public recognition of Lad during the franchise unveiling event served as both a personal tribute and an acknowledgement of the coach's broader impact on Indian cricket development.

Speaking of Rohit, the former India captain is preparing himself to take part in the upcoming one-day international series against the West Indies at home. The attacking opening batter has also expressed openly that he desires to play the 2027 ODI World Cup and bring glory to the Indian team. However, multiple reports have suggested that the selection committee wants to move on from Rohit ahead of the marquee tournament.