Struggled for form on Australian pitches, captain Rohit Sharma was advised by many to go back and play domestic cricket. Legendary Sunil Gavaskar was miffed with senior players skipping Ranji Trophy whereas head coach Gautam Gambhir in the post-series press conference said everyone should play domestic cricket when they are not on national duty. More than a week after the defeat in Sydney Test from which he opted out, Rohit turned up for Mumbai's Ranji Trophy team's practice session at the MCA-BKC ground on January 14.
Rohit drove to the ground for the practice session. In a photo that is making rounds on social media, Rohit can be seen taking strike with Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane on the other end during open nets. There can be a few slip fielders seen in the background as Rohit looked to solve his issues against fast bowling.
Rohit who has retired from T20I cricket will return to international arena in the three-ODI series against England starting February 6. While Rohit has struggled in Test cricket, his last few ODI appearances have not been disappointing. In the previous ODI series against Sri Lanka, he scored 157 runs from three innings including two half-centuries in Colombo. He was the highest run-scorer in the ODI series.
Will Rohit play Mumbai's next Ranji match?
Mumbai will take on Jammu and Kashmir in their next clash on January 23 as the second leg of the domestic red-ball tournament resumes. There is no confirmation over whether Rohit will play the Ranji Trophy game before joining the ODI side.Meanwhile, Shubman Gill is set to feature in Punjab's next Ranji game against Karnataka.
The last time Rohit played a Ranji match was in November 2015. Against Uttar Pradesh, he scored a century and shared a crucial partnership with Shreyas Iyer in the first innings to help Mumbai dominate. The match ended in a draw after Mumbai enforcing follow-on.
The England series will also be a preparatory series for India ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which will played in hybrid model.
How Rohit fared in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Rohit scored just 31 runs from five innings. He did not score well in the pink-ball warm-up game either. As a result, he stood down for the fifth and final Test of the series and handed the captaincy to fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.