'Greetings to the only batsman who’s given me nightmares' - Gautam Gambhir's cheeky birthday wish for Rohit Sharma

As the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma celebrates his 35^th birthday, former Team India star Gautam Gambhir recalled the nightmares that Rohit used to give him. Gambhir captained Kolkata Knight Riders for seven seasons between 2011-2017, and the clashes between KKR and Mumbai Indians have always been entertainers.

Rohit has been one of the most consistent performers against KKR and has scored 1018 runs in 30 matches, at a strike rate of 130.51 and an average of 44.26, including his six half-centuries against them. During a match between MI and KKR at the 2012 IPL, Sharma had knocked up an unbeaten 60-ball 109* smashing 12 fours and five sixes.

In that game, Gambhir was dismissed for a two-ball duck by pacer Munaf Patel as MI went on to win the game at the Eden Gardens by 27 runs. Gambhir took to Twitter to wish the Mumbai Indians skipper on his birthday in a unique way as he wrote: “Birthday greetings to the only batsman who’s given me nightmares as a captain. Thankfully, I don’t captain anymore @ImRo45.”

Birthday greetings to the only batsman who’s given me nightmares as a captain. Thankfully I don’t captain anymore @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/XzpEc9Ptal

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) April 30, 2022

Gambhir is currently the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants

Gambhir made his final appearance in the IPL in 2018. He played for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and stood down as their captain halfway through the competition. After a few of appearances in the Ranji Trophy later that year, Gambhir announced his retirement from international cricket.

He is now the mentor for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), one of the new entrants in the Indian Premier League, captained by KL Rahul. LSG has had a good run so far with six victories from nine games and is placed in the top half of the points table.

On the other hand, Rohit’s Mumbai Indians are going through a rough patch as they are yet to win a game this season. With eight losses on the trot, the five-time champions have been knocked out of the playoffs race as they have taken the bottom-most position in the table.