Rohit Sharma faces challenging task at BCCI's CoE ahead of ODI series against Australia

India’s veteran ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, is featuring in only one format in international cricket, having already taken retirement from the shortest and longest formats of the game in the span of a year. His T20I retirement came after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the Test retirement shocked the fans just before the Test series against England.

The Nagpur-born will be among the seven players to undergo the pre-season fitness test at the Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, as he aims to be part of the Blue Brigade during the three-match ODI series against Australia down under in October. Along with him, several Indian players are also likely to hit the ground before the Asia Cup 2025.

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India’s Test captain, Shubman Gill, premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur are also expected to be part of the group. A DEXA scan, used to test bone density, will be part of the pre-season test along with the blood tests.

Rohit Sharma to undergo fitness test at BCCI’s CoE before Australia series

However, there is no charity on the other veteran batter of the national side, Virat Kohli, who, just like Rohit, has also hung up his shoes from the T20Is and Tests. He would also need to undergo the fitness tests before the Australia series, as he will take the field for the first time since the end of the IPL 2025, playing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru when they won their maiden title.

“All players have to undergo a pre-season fitness Test, it’s mandatory as per the contract. These tests help the COE understand the areas the players have to work on or where they are lacking. As there was a big break (after the England Test series), the players were given sets of exercises to do at home.” The BCCI official, as quoted by the Indian Express.

“Look, we take these tests (Yo Yo, sprint, power, Dexa) as part of our assessments. It helps us get an idea about an athlete’s condition. For us as professionals, we are responsible for presenting benchmarks that are challenging yet achievable after having reviewed the team’s fitness standard.” India’s former strength and conditioning coach, Soham Desai, revealed why these programs are vital for the players before any series.