Rohit Sharma's level has gone down slightly, hopefully he will regain form against Sri Lanka: Irfan Pathan

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has said that Rohit Sharma's form and level has gone down slightly, but is hopeful that he will regain his touch before the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The Indian skipper endured a poor 2022 and will be looking forward to get back to form as India host Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series starting on January 10.

Rohit struggled with injuries last year, which restricted him to only eight ODIs in 2022. The right-hander managed to score 249 runs at an average of 41.50 with the help of three fifties in those eight games. Meanwhile, he also struggled in T20Is with 656 from 29 innings at an average of 24.29. With the next World Cup just months away, Pathan believes that Rohit needs to regain his form.

"Absolutely, his [Rohit's] level has gone down slightly, based on his standards. He is an amazing batter. The five centuries he scored in the 2019 World Cup, he batted amazingly well. He will have to probably remember that and regain his form. When his form comes back, this Indian team which is getting ready for the 50-over World Cup, you will not get a more solid team than India, especially in these conditions where the World Cup is going to be played," Pathan said on Star Sports show.

Rohit Sharma will have to regularly pay attention to his fitness: Irfan Pathan

Rohit, 35, missed the Test series against Bangladesh with a minor thumb injury he picked in the second ODI on the same tour. He was given a rest from the recently concluded T20Is against Sri Lanka to recover completely. Pathan added that the Indian captain will come back fresh but will have to pay attention to his fitness regularly.

"He will come back refreshed. Hopefully, he will come with preparation. He will have to regularly pay attention to his fitness and form and he will do that. He is already a great player, there is no doubt about that. There is one thing about the captaincy, he is a fantastic captain of this team. He will manage this team very well and extremely easily but two things - he needs to give a lot of attention to his form and fitness," Irfan added.

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