India limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma revealed that he was an admirer of Yuvraj Singh to the extent that he saw him as his “cricket crush” and wanted to take note of everything the former India all-rounder did.

Rohit broke into the Indian team at the age of 20 and was a part of the side that lifted the inaugural World T20 in 2007 in South Africa. Those were the days of Yuvraj in his prime, as he took the world by storm with his big-hitting, most notably reeling off six sixes in an over off England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who, too, was trying to make his mark as a 21-year-old.

That tournament marked Rohit’s T20I debut, just three months after he made his ODI debut, and Rohit admitted to being swept off his feet by watching an on-song Yuvraj. “When I came into the team, my cricket crush was Yuvraj Singh,” Rohit said in an Instagram live chat with Yuvraj. “I always wanted to talk to Yuvraj Singh, I always wanted to see how he prepares and what he does.”

Much like his idol, Rohit has since gone on to establish himself as a limited-overs giant in the Indian team, while his Test career still hasn’t truly taken off. With 9115 runs, Rohit is seventh on India’s all-time one-day list, one place above Yuvraj. A big six-hitter like Yuvraj, Rohit has also surpassed his idol there, having struck 244 sixes, the most ever for an Indian batsman in ODIs.