Rohit Sharma has been playing cricket since the age of 9, will soon complete his 500 matches, gives update on fitness

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing clash between India and Bangladesh, Indian captain Rohit Sharma opened up about his longevity in the game and his retirement from the T20I format after his team's memorable ICC T20 World Cup win. Rohit Sharma also talked about fitness and his experiences.

Rohit Sharma was speaking on the YouTube channel of 'Hitman' Jitendra Chowksey on Saturday. Speaking on the channel, Rohit said that he is close to playing 500 matches for India in international cricket and that is something that not many players have been able to do. And to get such a long life, fitness routine plays an important role in life.

“Having played for 17 years, I am now close to playing 500 matches for India at the international level,” Rohit said.

said on youtube channel

Rohit said, “Five hundred matches, not many cricketers around the world have played. To live such a long life, there should be some changes in your daily routine. How you manage your fitness, how you manage your mind and how you train yourself. And most importantly, how you prepare for the game. At the end of the day, our job is to be 100 percent ready for the game and perform to win the game. And then, if you don't do well, that preparation also includes fitness.”

Retired from T20I

Rohit revealed the reason he retired from T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup title in June. Rohit said, “I retired from T20Is because I have served my time. I enjoyed playing this format. I played for 17 years and performed well. After winning the World Cup, it was the best time for me to decide that now I should move on and then focus on other things. There are many good players who can perform well for India. I felt it was the right time.”

Rohit's cricket career

Rohit won the T20 World Cup twice, winning the title as a young and emerging player in 2007. In 151 T20I matches, Rohit has scored 4,231 runs at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of over 140. He has scored five centuries and 32 half-centuries in his career, with his best score being 121*. Rohit is also the highest run scorer in this format. Rohit also had a career-best performance with the bat, scoring 257 runs in eight matches at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of over 156.

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Started with friends from the building

His best score was 92 runs and he scored three half-centuries in the competition and became the second highest run-scorer. Reflecting on his cricket journey, Rohit said, “We used to play in our building, in the society. There is shortage of space in Bombay. You just have to make do with whatever you have. I started playing with all my friends, sometimes school friends. The friends in the building were the ones I played with for fun. I didn't know it would turn out like this. I started playing when I was nine years old. It has been 28-29 years since I have been playing cricket.”

Education was also affected

The captain admitted that the demands of the game were such that at times it affected his studies. The Indian captain said, “There are a lot of demands in the game, be it travelling, learning skills, fitness, training. In Mumbai, if you want to be a cricketer, you have to travel – 2 hours of travel by train, play for 5 to 6 hours, then come back – you don't know if you will get a seat or not. It affected me a lot physically and mentally. But I enjoyed it, and that hard work made me stronger – that's what has made me who I am today and helps me make tough decisions these days.”

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Meaning of fitness explained

Rohit said that for him as a cricketer, fitness is not about how he looks physically, but what he can give to his team on the field. “Can you give your best for the team with full intensity over 5 days in a Test match and can you give your best for 100 overs in ODI and can you do the same in T20Is.”

The Indian captain is currently busy in the ongoing two-Test series against Bangladesh. India is leading 1-0 in the series. The second test is being played at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.

(with agency input)