Rohit Sharma buries MI rivalry, seeks Hardik Pandya’s help to save his career
Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have joined hands to prepare together for the upcoming series against England and ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With the announcement of India’s squad for the tournament just around the corner, Rohit has intensified his preparations after a poor performance in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.
The Indian cricket team captain had a terrible tour of Australia, where the experienced batsman managed just 31 runs in the three Test matches of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Even the Hitman had to sit out the last Test in Sydney due to poor form with the bat and Jasprit Bumrah led India but ended up injured.
Rohit Sharma is thinking about reviving the ODI series in England after a poor Australian tour
However, after India’s 1-3 Test series loss to Australia, Rohit Sharma has returned to training. After training with the Mumbai Ranji team in Mumbai, the right-handed batsman was spotted practicing alongside Hardik Pandya in the Mumbai Indians nets.
Both the players are currently preparing for the upcoming series against England at home in the Champions Trophy 2025. However, Rohit will join the squad for the ODI series after retiring from T20I cricket last year.
On the other hand, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is scheduled to start 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 ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Meanwhile, a video is currently going viral on social media, where Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were seen having an intense training session under the lights at Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai. They practiced with a white ball at the facility of Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai.
In the viral video, Rohit was seen batting under the lights at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai as Hardik Pandya bowled him during the session. The Indian captain has been practicing late cuts and pull shots as he hopes to regain his form ahead of the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
ROHIT 🤝 HARDIK…!!!
– Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya work together ahead of Champions Trophy. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/VTU8tmLHVO
— Ivanovi. (@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, it is still unclear whether Rohit will feature for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir in the ongoing Ranji Trophy in 2024-25. He last played a Ranji match for Mumbai in 2015.
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However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently made it mandatory for players to participate in domestic cricket to remain eligible for Indian team selection and central contracts. The BCCI has also warned that players who do not comply with the new rules could face disciplinary action and a ban from tournaments.
On the other hand, Hardik performed regularly in domestic cricket. The Mumbai Indians captain participated in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 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.
Namely, the Indian selectors are likely to announce the squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2024-25. January 19. They are waiting for clear information about the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav. India will begin their CT 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.