India captain Rohit Sharma recently spoke about his responsibility towards reaching his 500th appearance for India, and the length of his career reflects the amount of dedication and focus it took to stay at the top level for such a long period of time. He pointed out that it shows whether the system was necessary.
Rohit Sharma is just 15 games away from joining the club with 500 appearances. (PTI)
Speaking to Jitendra Choksi on the podcast, Sharma pointed out the length of time he has been a consistent player for India. “I have been playing for 17 years and to be playing soon…I am on the verge of playing another 500 international matches for India,” the opener said. “There aren’t that many cricketers who have played 500 matches around the world.”
Interviewer: What do you think about fitness in cricket?
Rohit Sharma: “I played cricket for 17-18 years and played 500 international matches. Not many people have done that. I wonder if my longevity and habits mean something. is.”
Brothers on a mission 😭🔥 pic.twitter.com/x9q24QAI6L
— Jod Insane (@jod_insane) September 28, 2024
Only 10 cricketers have played more than 500 matches across formats, but Sharma is set to become the 11th player to join the club, currently playing his 485th match against Bangladesh in the Kanpur Test. I am doing it. He also becomes the fifth Indian player in the club after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid.
Mr. Sharma also spoke about the important aspects to achieve such goals. “Living this long requires some tweaking to your routine: how you manage your fitness, how you manage your mind, and how you train yourself. The thing is how you prepare for the match,” said the Indian captain.
“Our job is to win the game…”
Sharma is likely to reach the 500-match mark in early 2025, with Test matches against New Zealand and Australia and a T20 against South Africa bringing him closer to the target. He made his debut in 2007 and has been a consistent performer across formats. Eventually, he developed into one of India’s best openers across formats.
“At the end of the day, our job is to be 100 percent ready for a match and perform to win the match. And if you go back, fitness comes from that preparation.” said Rohit, detailing what his process is to stay in the zone both physically and mentally for each match.
Sharma is currently part of the Indian team in the Test series against Bangladesh, but the Kanpur Test has so far struggled to get going as it rained on all three days of the match.
