The India captain unveils a dramatic fitness overhaul, shedding 10 kgs in preparation for his return to the pitch.
September 25, 2025: Rohit Sharma, India’s ODI captain, is going through a big physical change as he gets ready to play competitive cricket again. The experienced batsman, who last played for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025, is said to have lost a remarkable 10 kg, which has fans excited for his return to international cricket.
His close buddy and former India assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, helped him get in shape with a tough workout plan. Nayar posted a picture of the newly-slim Rohit on social media with the statement “10,000 grams later, we keep pushing.”
Getting fit and training
The 38-year-old recently flew to Bengaluru’s BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for a required fitness test before the season started. Rohit passed the hard drills, which included the high-intensity Yo-Yo test and a DXA Scan (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry), which athletes use to check their bone density and body composition.
Most of the centrally contracted cricketers went to the COE, but superstar batter Virat Kohli did not. He did his fitness test from London, which is why he was not there.
Rohit Sharma’s long-awaited comeback to the pitch is set for October 19, when India plays Australia in the first of three one-day internationals at Perth Stadium in Perth. This will be his first time playing for the national team since he was named Player of the Match in India’s Champions Trophy final win against New Zealand in March of this year.
There were rumors that Rohit and Kohli might play in the unofficial India A vs. Australia A ODI series in Kanpur as a warm-up, but neither player was named to the squad. This means that they are both directly preparing for the major international series.
Young Gun on the Radar
In other team news, it looks like the national selection committee is interested in giving up-and-coming T20 player Abhishek Sharma his first ODI call-up. The left-handed opener has been in great form at the Asia Cup in Dubai, where he has scored 248 runs in five innings with an amazing strike rate of 206.67 and an average of 49.60. His blazing start to his T20I career makes him a strong candidate for the 50-over format.