Indias limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma was known for his lazy elegance from the time he entered the international stage, but former teammate Irfan Pathan believes that there has always been more to the stylish opener than just talent.

Speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, former India all-rounder Irfan spoke about how Rohit always worked hard in early years even if his body language suggested otherwise, “Lot of people are mistaken when they see a guy who has lot of time and he is slightly more relaxed than compared to Rohit. Then you say he needs to work hard! Same things were said about Wasim Jaffer, when you look at his aura, when he used to run he used to run very relaxed, when he used to bat he had lot of time and we used to think — why isn’t he working hard — but actually, he was working really hard.

“Similarly with Rohit, from outside we used to think he might need to work more harder, he might need to put more application. Whenever you talk to Rohit Sharma, he used to always talk about sensible things, he used to always talk about working hard and he used to always talk about the team first as well, that is why you see some of the results he got at the captain of the Mumbai Indians team. He got the beating of not playing the World Cup and then came back really hard because of a strong mindset after 2012.”

Former teammate Robin Uthappa had also recently praised Rohit and said: “When I look at Rohit, I feel he has got eternity to play a ball. It just baffles you like where does he create that time. It’s amazing to watch and so effortless. He has always done well in India and abroad. In white-ball cricket, he dominates the scene right now. He is arguably one of the best batsmen in the world.

“Given that situation, he must be going through a huge surge in confidence. He has reached a point in his career where he understands his batting really well and he knows what works for him and how to approach him. I think he has figured out opening the batting and this opportunity came at the right moment for Rohit to capitalise on it. So it’s not a surprise that he is successful.”