[Watch] Rohit Sharma gets into the groove ahead of the ODI series opener against Sri Lanka
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma will return to action in the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday, January 10. The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati will host the first ODI.
Rohit suffered a thumb injury while fielding during the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka last month. He was eventually ruled out of the third ODI and the following two Tests against the Bangla Tigers. The Indian skipper also missed three home T20Is against the Islanders.
The talismanic scorer recently returned to the nets and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a short clip where he was seen fine-tuning his skills.
"Nets ✅ Fan meet-ups 😃✅ #TeamIndia skipper @rohitsharma45 is all geared-up for #INDvSL ODI series opener 💪🏻," BCCI captioned the post.
In the video, Rohit was seen batting in the nets. He looked in good touch and timed the ball from the middle of the bat.
The Mumbai-born cricketer also met fans present at the stadium after the training session, gave autographs and also posed for pictures.
Rohit Sharma had a sub-par outing in 2022, amassing only 249 runs from eight ODIs at an average of 41.50. On the other hand, he scored 656 runs, including three half-centuries, in 29 T20Is at an average of less than 25 last year.
"I have not decided to give up the format" - Rohit Sharma on his T20I future
There has been debate going around over Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's future in the shortest format of the game since India's exit from the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
Incidentally, Rohit and Kohli missed the two T20I series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka after the T20 World Cup, but the Indian captain reiterated that it was more to manage workloads.
Addressing reporters ahead of the first ODI, the Mumbai Indians skipper said:
"It was made clear in the past that it's a 50-over World Cup year, and for some of the guys, it's not possible to play all formats. If you look at the schedule, the matches are back to back. So looking at some of the players' workloads, we wanted to give them a break. And I also fall into that category.
"We have only six T20Is, three [against Sri Lanka] are over and we have three against New Zealand," he added. "So we will look after those boys till we get to the IPL, and see what happens after that. But certainly, I have not decided to give up the format."
Rohit Sharma will hope to make a bright start to 2023 when he leads India in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.