Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have joined hands to prepare together for the upcoming white-ball series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With the announcement of India’s squad for the tournament just around the corner, Rohit intensified his preparations after his woeful performance in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.
The Indian cricket team skipper has had a terrible Australia tour, where the seasoned batter could manage only 31 runs in three Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. And even the Hitman had to drop himself from the final Test in Sydney due to poor form with the bat and Jasprit Bumrah led India, but ended up injuring himself.
Rohit Sharma eyes revival in England ODI series after poor Australia tour
However, after India’s 1-3 Test series loss to Australia, Rohit Sharma has returned to practice. After training with Mumbai’s Ranji team in Mumbai, the right-handed batter was spotted practicing alongside Hardik Pandya in the Mumbai Indians’ nets.
Both players are currently gearing up for India’s upcoming white-ball series against England at home in lead-up to the Champions Trophy 2025. However, Rohit will join the team for the ODI series having retired from T20I cricket last year.
On the other hand, the star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to leave for India’s three-day training camp in Kolkata on Saturday, January 18. However, the Indian skipper will continue his preparations in Mumbai.
Rohit Sharma trains under lights with Hardik Pandya ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Meanwhile, a video is currently going viral on social media, where Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were seen engaged in an intense training session under the lights at Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai. They were practicing with the white ball in the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians’ facility in Navi Mumbai.
In the viral video, Rohit was seen batting under the lights at Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai while Hardik Pandya bowled to him during the session. The Indian captain practiced late cuts and pull shots, as he is hoping to regain his form ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
ROHIT
HARDIK…!!!
– Rohit Sharma & Hardik Pandya working together ahead of the Champions Trophy.
pic.twitter.com/VTU8tmLHVO
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 16, 2025
Earlier, Rohit was spotted practicing with the Mumbai team ahead of their Ranji Trophy 2024-25 match against Jammu and Kashmir on January 23 in Mumbai. However, there is still no clarity on whether Rohit will turn up for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25. He last played a Ranji match for Mumbai in 2015.
Read Also: Virat Kohli suffers neck injury as BCCI issues strict order to play Ranji Trophy
Will Rohit Sharma make Ranji return as BCCI mandates Domestic Cricket for India selection?
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently made it mandatory for players to participate in domestic cricket to stay eligible for Team India selection and central contracts. The BCCI also warned that players who fail to follow the new policies could face disciplinary action and a ban from the tournaments.
On the other hand, Hardik has been regularly featuring in domestic cricket. The Mumbai Indians captain took part in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 tournament as well as the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Now, Pandya is gearing up for the three-match T20I series against England at home.
Notably, the Indian selectors are likely to announce the squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2024-25 on January 19. They are awaiting a clear fitness update on Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav. India will kick off their CT 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.