At NCA, everybody's focus was to get Rohit Sharma ready: Pragyan Ojha

India’s swashbuckling opening batsman Rohit Sharma joined the Indian team in the hotel in Melbourne after completing his 14-day mandatory quarantine period in Sydney in a two bedroom flat. Rohit had travelled to Australia earlier this month after regaining full fitness as he had suffered a hamstring injury during a game between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

In the same light, Rohit Sharma had to miss the first two Test matches against Australia in Adelaide and Melbourne respectively but he will be available for selection in the last two games in Sydney and Brisbane. Speaking about the opening batsman, India’s veteran spinner Pragyan Ojha reckoned that Rohit will have to practice a lot in the nets to get used to the Australian conditions.

“Rohit needs a lot of practice now because he had a 14-day quarantine period in his room, he has to get used to the conditions their and I think it’s the best way – go out there and practice.” Ojha said on Sports Today.

Officials at NCA wanted Rohit Sharma to reduce weight, says Pragyan Ojha

After the conclusion of IPL 2020, Rohit Sharma had travelled back to India to undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The batsman trained hard at NCA for almost a month and boarded the flight to Australia only when he passed the fitness test.

Speaking about Rohit’s stay at NCA, Ojha asserted that the main motive behind his training at NCA was to get him completely ready for the Test series against Australia. The spinner also revealed Rohit was asked to reduce his weight as during the lockdown he had gained some kilos which could have resulted in him getting frequently injured.

“At NCA they made sure that Rohit was training harder because during the IPL and before that he had put on a little bit of weight, so they wanted him to reduce that. When you have not played for so long we are seeing a lot of injuries this season. So maybe because of that they wanted Rohit to be totally match fit. At NCA everybody’s focus was to get Rohit ready so that he doesn’t have an injury on the field,” Ojha concluded.