While most fans didn’t notice it during the game, Rohit Sharma himself revealed this act on social media. He expressed his profound feeling towards the endangered rhino species.

For long the India opener, and his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, had spoken and been part of organizations involved in the conservation of the Great One-Horned Rhinoceros or the Indian Rhino. This IPL season the Mumbai Indians captain is even more vocal as suggested by his recent initiative.

It was special for me; Every step matters: Rohit Sharma

The 33-year-old right-handed opener launched the “Rohit4Rhinos” campaign in September 2019, in partnership with WWF India and Animal Planet.

Of the approximately 3500 Indian rhinos left in the world, 82% are found in India. Earlier, these species were found in abundance across the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra river basins, however, now it is found only in few regions of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. The Indian rhinoceros, which is the state animal of Assam, is facing extinction due to excessive poaching, and habitat loss.