India captain Rohit Sharma was at his best self during the felicitation ceremony at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan on Friday, July 5. Sharma addressed the members of the Vidhan Bhavan as he along with Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shivam Dube were felicitated by the Maharashtra government after their T20 World Cup 2024 win. Notably, after returning home on Thursday, July 4, the Indian cricketers received a grand welcome from fans and the BCCI.
After their victory parade and felicitation at the Wankhede Stadium, four cricketers including Sharma, Yadav, Jaiswal, and Dube met Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. Later, they visited the Vidhan Bhavan where Rohit was greeted by the members with ‘Mumbai Cha Raja Rohit Sharma’ chants. Not only this but during his address, Rohit cracked a joke about Suryakumar Yadav’s iconic catch in the T20 World Cup 2024 final.
Sharma said in Marathi, “After Surya caught the ball, he told me that the ball sat in his hand. Thank goodness, it sat in his hand. Otherwise, I would have sat him out.” Indian captain’s joke left everyone, including Maharashtra CM and Vice Chief Minister in splits. The video of the same has gone viral on social media since then.
Not only Rohit, but veteran batter Suryakumar Yadav, who pulled an incredible catch to guide India towards victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, addressed the gathering in Marathi. During his address, Yadav said, “Thank you CM sir for giving me this opportunity, feel happy to meet all of you. I am not going to forget what I saw yesterday. The most important work was done by Mumbai Police yesterday, and I don’t believe anyone could do this type of work. I hope we win another World Cup.”
Maharashtra CM, Eknath Shinde announced a cash reward of INR 11 crore for the members of Team India.