Rohit Sharma gears up for home ODI series against South Africa

Opportunities to watch Rohit Sharma in action are becoming increasingly limited, as the former India captain has now shifted his focus solely to the 50-over format. However, with India’s next ODI series against South Africa approaching, Rohit made the most of his time in Mumbai by joining the city’s Ranji Trophy squad for a training session.

The veteran opener was seen at the MCA-BKC Ground in Bandra-Kurla Complex, where Mumbai are currently playing their fourth-round Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh. Rohit was accompanied by his former teammate and current bowling coach Dhawal Kulkarni, who was supervising the reserve bowlers in the nets while the match continued nearby.

Dressed in light training gear and shorts, Rohit did not take part in a batting session. Instead, he interacted with some of the younger Mumbai players and completed a few sprinting drills as part of his fitness routine.

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The upcoming South Africa series will be Rohit’s first ODI assignment since his impressive return to international cricket against Australia. During that series, he was named Player of the Series after amassing 202 runs in three innings, including his 33rd ODI hundred in India’s lone win at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where he shared a memorable stand with Virat Kohli.

With the three-match ODI series against South Africa set to begin on November 30 in Ranchi, preparations for both Rohit and Kohli are underway.

Interestingly, Rohit’s last appearance for Mumbai in domestic cricket was also at this venue, earlier this year against Jammu and Kashmir. Although he didn’t make a big impact in that match, it would later mark one of his final outings in red-ball cricket before announcing his retirement from the longer format a few months later.