‘Time well spent’: Rohit Sharma reveals how long break fueled his strong return in Australia | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: After finishing as India’s highest run-scorer in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia, Rohit Sharma revealed on Sunday how a rare long break from international cricket helped him prepare mentally and physically for the challenging tour Down Under.Rohit, who has rarely enjoyed a 4-5 month gap in his international career, said the break allowed him to train at his own pace and focus on what he needed to do for the rest of his career. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Since the time I started playing, I never had four to five months to prepare for a series, so I wanted to utilise that. I wanted to do things in my own way, on my own terms, and that actually worked out pretty well for me. Understanding what I need to do for the rest of my career, it was important to utilise that time because, like I said, I never had such time in my hand. I prepared pretty well back home. Obviously, the conditions back home and here are not ideal. It’s a massive difference between the two countries, but I’ve come here so many times. So it was just about getting into that rhythm and understanding what I need to do here,” Rohit said in a BCCI video.
The veteran opener’s patience and preparation paid off in the third ODI at Sydney Cricket Ground, where he scored an unbeaten 121 off 125 balls, anchoring India’s chase of 237. Rohit shared 69 runs with Shubman Gill (24) for the first wicket before joining forces with Virat Kohli (74 not out off 81 balls) to put on an unbroken 168-run partnership, rescuing India from a potential whitewash.Rohit also highlighted the impact of young players like Harshit Rana, who grabbed 4/39, saying, “Looking at how he bowled, it was a fantastic effort from him.” His innings, combined with Kohli’s resilience, underscored the blend of experience and mentorship that India still possesses.Reflecting on the series, Rohit expressed gratitude to the fans and the Australian crowd: “Very, very grateful firstly to have people standing beside you. Whenever we’ve played, people have come out and supported, not just the two of us but the entire team… The crowd never disappoints. Unfortunately, we couldn’t cross the line with the series, but we enjoyed coming and playing here and are really, really grateful to the crowd for their support throughout Australia.”Rohit’s performance demonstrated the benefits of focused preparation, experience, and patience, reinforcing why he remains a pivotal figure for India’s ODI side even after stepping away from Tests and T20Is.
