“Such an unreal moment” - 17-year-old Mumbai batter shares a picture with idol Rohit Sharma on his Instagram handle

Mumbai's 17-year-old batter Ayush Mhatre had a fanboy moment as he posed for a picture with India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma and shared the same on Instagram. Mhatre described Rohit as his idol and termed the opportunity to get clicked with the star cricketer as an unreal moment.

Rohit had a disastrous Test series in Australia, during which he scored just 31 runs in five innings. Subsequently, Rohit confirmed his availability for the ongoing Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai. The 37-year-old was, however, dismissed for three in the first innings and 28 in the second essay.

While the Indian captain couldn't spend much time at the crease, his presence in the dressing room proved to be a big boost for Mhatre. The 17-year-old clicked a picture with Rohit and shared it on Instagram with the caption:

"Started playing cricket by watching him bat on television to sharing a dressing room with my idol was such an unreal moment. Lots of learning to take forward #dreamcometrue."

Mhatre has made an impressive start to his first-class career. In six matches (11 innings), he has scored 441 runs at an average of 40.09, with two hundreds and one fifty. His best of 176 was registered against Maharashtra in the first leg of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

The 17-year-old has also notched up 458 runs in seven List A games at an average of 65.42 and a strike rate of 135.50, with two tons and one half-century. Mhatre (17 years and 168 days) clobbered 181 off 117 against Nagaland in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to break Yashasvi Jaiswal's (17 years and 291 days) record of being the youngest batter to register a 150-plus score in men's List A.

The youngster went on to hammer 148 off 93 against Saurashtra at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a knock that included 13 fours and nine sixes. With his off-spin, Mhatre has also claimed seven List A wickets.

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Rohit Sharma will captain India in ODIs against England and Champions Trophy

Following his poor performance as a batter and captain during the Test series Down Under, questions were raised about Rohit's future in international cricket. The selectors have, however, backed him for ODIs.

The veteran batter has been named captain for the three-match one-day series against England at home as well as the Champions Trophy, which will be played from February 19 to March 9.