Rohit Sharma made 8 runs on his India ODI comeback in first ODI in Perth.
Former India and Mumbai batter Abhishek Nayar has revealed how ex-India captain Rohit Sharma lost 11 kg before his ODI comeback for the Indian team on the Australian tour. The Champions Trophy final was Rohit's most recent appearance for Team India.
The Hitman's lack of fitness during his prolonged break from the field caused a lot of controversy, with some supporters doubting his ability to play international cricket in the future.
However, Rohit made a strong statement about his dedication to the game by controlling his eating habits in addition to working hard at the gym to get back in shape.
Nayar, who has previously turned into a personal coach for several Indian cricketers previously, helped get Rohit Sharma into shape and explained how hard Rohit worked to regain his lost fitness.
"To sum up, three hours of training every day. We didn't do a lot of cardio. The first five weeks were about a bodybuilder's mindset, where he was trying to train to completely lean down. He trained like a bodybuilder—high repetitions.
It would surprise a lot of people. Even Team India's strength and conditioning coach, Adrian Le Roux, would abuse me! But he did 700-800 reps for every body part. It was almost an hour-and-a-half session every day. Imagine if you were doing chest and triceps, you ended up doing 800 reps. With light weights, we did a lot of repetitions, aiming for strength and endurance. Along with that, we finished every session with around 15 to 20 minutes of CrossFit, which is more cardio and movement-based. This was six days a week, three hours a day, for three months. It was non-stop," Nayar said on Star Sports.
Nayar stated that Rohit even avoided Mumbai's famous vadapav, a delicacy that the batter apparently enjoys and is frequently mocked for.
"But the game doesn't end there. After that, his eating habits had to be controlled. It was his commitment to go home and not indulge in the famous vadapav and everything else people talk about. That was his commitment to the sport. Those three hours are only as useful as what you do after that. Those 21 hours—the way he controlled himself, not to eat—that was the mindset. The first eight weeks were pure, hardcore training," he added.
According to Nayar, Rohit prioritized being a more athletic cricketer above bulking up. He appreciated it, as his efforts had paid off.
"Then we introduced skills. We were trying to see what changes had come about in the way he moved and how he felt after losing weight. It's been a lot of hard work, from being a bodybuilder to becoming an athlete in those few weeks.
The first time we practiced, he played a defensive shot. That day, the scenario was drop and run. When he ran and reached the non-striker's end, he said, 'Bhai, main toh ud raha hoon (Brother, I'm flying).' That was his feedback, because after a long time, he was feeling really light,” Nayar stated.
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Nayar also revealed that Rohit saw a photo of himself, clicked at an airport, which prompted this change in him.
"He did a similar transformation in 2011. Before that, there was a photo of him in a newspaper looking bulky. He is very particular about his image on social media. If a photo of him comes out with a circle and an arrow on his stomach, that inspires him.
A photo like that went viral after he returned from his holiday post the IPL. That photo claimed he was overweight. The discussion then was centered around what we needed to do. Yes, we wanted him to get fit for cricket, but he also thought about how people would visually perceive Rohit. Yes, he has to prolong his career and reach the 2027 World Cup. The first thing we wanted to do was transform him physically. We targeted 10 kilograms (weight loss). Initially, I wasn't very confident that he would lose that much. We started with a goal in mind, but we needed consistency in training and nutrition. When you have tournaments in between, you lose that consistency. But here, we had three uninterrupted months. What happened in three months here couldn't have happened in six," he said.
However, Rohit Sharma’s return to the Indian team was a brief one, as he managed only 8 runs before being dismissed in the first ODI against Australia in Perth on October 19, 2025.