Former BCCI assistant coach and close confidant of Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, has spoken about Rohit’s remarkable fitness transformation ahead of India’s upcoming three-match ODI series in Australia, scheduled to begin on October 19.
Nayar highlighted that although there were numerous discussions about Rohit “putting on weight” and some images surfacing of him at airports fueling speculation, the star batsman’s transformation was aimed at dispelling every doubt through discipline and hard work to become healthier, faster, and fitter. Nayar said, “There were a lot of talks about him, putting on weight and a few images coming out at the airport. So it was all about changing all of that and in a lot of ways to be healthier, faster and fitter,” as quoted by Star Sports.
Fitness Journey
Rohit Sharma’s fitness journey involved a strict overhaul of his diet, focusing on a nutrient-rich regimen low in carbohydrates but high in protein, which led to significant weight loss. This transformation is key to his readiness for the ODI series against Australia, where he will play under Shubman Gill’s captaincy. Rohit had last featured internationally in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final, where he captained India.
Currently in Australia, Rohit has resumed intense net sessions. Although his start was slow, he improved steadily as the practice continued.
ODI Squad
The Indian ODI squad for the series is captained by Shubman Gill and includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain, KL Rahul as wicketkeeper, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel as wicketkeeper, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. This well-rounded squad reflects India’s strategic planning and robust player lineup for the challenging Australian conditions(see the generated image above).
Records Rohit Can Break In This Series
Rohit Sharma is on the verge of becoming the fifth Indian cricketer, joining the elite group of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli, to play 500 international matches if he appears in any one of the three ODIs against Australia. Currently, he has participated in 499 matches across all three formats for India.
In ODIs, Rohit has amassed 11,168 runs over 273 games. He requires just 54 more runs to surpass Sourav Ganguly and claim the spot as India’s third-highest run-scorer in the 50-over format. Ganguly scored 11,221 runs in 308 ODIs from 1992 to 2007.
Rohit has hit 344 sixes in ODIs so far. If he manages to hit at least eight sixes in this series, he will break Shahid Afridi’s record of the most sixes in ODIs. Afridi set the record with 351 sixes in 398 matches from 1996 to 2015.
If Rohit clears a tally of 12 sixes in the India-Australia ODI series, he will become the first player ever to hit 100 sixes against Australia in ODIs