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Rohit Sharma is leaving no stone unturned as he prepares for a crucial white-ball season, with the ICC Champions Trophy and an ODI series against England coming up in the next few weeks.
The 37-year-old India ODI captain has been under scrutiny following a lean patch in Test cricket last year, which forced him to drop himself from the playing XI for the Sydney Test against Australia earlier this month.
After his flop show in Australia, Rohit will be keen to make a strong statement in the coming ODI series against England to regain his rhythm and form.
As part of his preparations, Rohit practiced with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team earlier this week.
In a video posted on Instagram, Rohit can be seen working extensively on his batting, unleashing his signature shots including the trademark pull shots, the drives through the off-side and the straight lofted shots among others.
Rohit, who retired from T20 Internationals after leading India to the T20 World Cup victory in June, last played an ODI during the tour of Sri Lanka in August last year.
He is one of India's top players in One-Day Internationals, with 10,866 runs in 265 matches at an average of 49.16, with 31 centuries. He had captained India to the 2023 ODI World Cup final, where they narrowly missed the title after losing to Australia.
With T20s taking over, the number of ODIs has gone down drastically in the last few years. Since 2020, Rohit has featured in just 44 ODIs, out of which 27 were played in 2023, including the World Cup.
While his Test batting has declined in the past couple of years, he still remains a potent force in white ball cricket.
Rohit's record in ODIs in the last five years:
| Year | Games | Innings | 100s | 50s | Highest Score | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
| 2020 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 119 | 171 | 57 | 91.44 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 90 | 30 | 86.54 |
| 2022 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 76* | 249 | 41.50 | 114.22 |
| 2023 | 27 | 26 | 2 | 9 | 131 | 1,255 | 52.29 | 117.07 |
| 2024 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 157 | 52.33 | 141.44 |
Rohit's record in Champions Trophy:
| Tournament | Games | Innings | Not Out | 100s | 50s | Highest Score | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
| 2013 Champions Trophy | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 177 | 35.40 | 75.97 |
| 2017 Champions Trophy | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 123 n.o | 304 | 76.00 | 86.86 |
| TOTAL | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 123 n.o | 481 | 53.44 | 82.50 |
Rohit holds the record for the highest individual knock in ODIs -- a world record 264 against Sri Lanka in November 2014. With three double centuries to his name, he is the only batter to have scored two or more double hundreds in 50 overs cricket.
As India eyes success in the Champions Trophy, a lot will depend on their captain rediscovering his peak form.