India captain Rohit Sharma keeps his promise by visiting Sri Lankan fan's home in Colombo

Sport360 staff 19:08 17/03/2018
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  • Rohit with his fan Mohamed Nilam. Image courtesy: Mohamed Nilam/Facebook

    Remember Mohamed Nilam, the Sri Lankan cricket fan who was in the news when the Sri Lankans toured India in December last year?

    The super fan, who is a long time admirer of Rohit Sharma, had travelled to India to support his side but then had to rush back to his homeland after finding out that his father had been diagnosed with cancer.

    The emergency had caught Nilam unawares and the Sri Lanka fan did not have money to buy a flight ticket home at the time. Rohit had come to his rescue, taking care if all expenses.

    Along with the financial help, the Indian batsman had also promised Nilam that he would pay him and his family a visit the next time he was in the island nation.

    The Mumbai-based batsman is currently leading the Men in Blue in Nidahas T20I tri-series in Sri Lanka where his side will meet Bangladesh in the final on Sunday.

    True to his word, the stand-in skipper paid Nilam and his folks a visit on Friday.

    “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,” Rohit told Indian Express after the visit.

    “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.

    “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,” Nilam was quoted as saying.

    “Frankly, I didn’t have any money then (December) and didn’t know anyone else also in India. The last moment flights are expensive, so Rohit got to know from Sudhir Gautam (Sachin Tendulkar fan) and he called me to the hotel. He handed me the tickets and money. Who will do this in today’s time?

    “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.”

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