Rohit Sharma trains with Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team, bats with Ajinkya Rahane at MCA-BKC ground before IND vs ENG ODIs

Amidst calls to play domestic cricket when not on national duty, India captain Rohit Sharma joined Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy on Tuesday (January 14) for practice. After the Test series against Australia ended on January 3, Rohit do not have any match to play for India until February 6 when India take on England in the first ODI.

In a video that went viral on social media, Rohit arrived at the MCA-BKC ground in his blue car, took his kitbag out and went inside. Meanwhile, he was caught on camera batting with Ajinkya Rahane, which looked like a practice match of match simulation.

With Mumbai resuming their Ranji Trophy 2024-25 campaign on January 23, it is still unclear whether Rohit will play a game for his state for the first time since 2015. Rohit’s last Ranji Trophy game came against Uttar Pradesh 10 years back.

Mumbai will play Jammu and Kashmir at the MCA-BKC ground next. The match holds significance as far as advancing to the knockouts is concerned. Rohit’s decision to train with the Mumbai team comes amidst calls to play domestic cricket when not on national duty.

Ever since Gautam Gambhir became the India head coach, the former opener advocated the need to play domestic cricket for all top-level cricketers including the likes of Rohit and Virat Kohli.

Among other India cricketers, Shubman Gill is likely to play for Punjab against Karnataka in Ranji Trophy. India will play three ODIs against England. Nagpur (February 6, 1st), Cuttack (February 9, 2nd) and Ahmedabad (February 12, 3rd) will play hosts to India vs England ODIs.

Rohit Sharma’s form under scrutiny

Rohit Sharma form has been under scrutiny lately. After his flop show against New Zealand at home, the 37-year-old, who endured a horror run with the bat during India’s tour of Australia recently.

The past few weeks have been tumultuous for Rohit. He managed just 31 runs across three Tests during his time Down Under and was forced to drop himself from the final Test in Sydney due to his poor form.

With his future as a red-ball cricketer hanging by a thread, Rohit attended a review meeting on Sunday to assess the team’s performance. He was joined by head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI’s new secretary Devajit Saikia during the deliberations.