Rohit Sharma is the quintessential cricketer whose story is ideal for a silver screen exhibition. The player witnessed initial struggles in his career but never looked back after garnering consistency in his game. 17 years into the game, Rohit has built an extraordinary career and will firmly go down as the legend of the game. While Rohit Sharma will be touted as a grand success, there was a time when adversity had beleaguered him and he had to work his way to make it to the India side again. Former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, who is a long-time friend of Rohit, recently divulged how the current India captain resurrected his career by getting rid of his biggest hurdle, fitness issues, and how he contributed in his path.

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Abhishek Nayar reveals when Rohit Sharma decided to transform himself

Speaking with Ranveer Allahabadia on the TRS podcast, Abhishek Nayar revealed that not getting selected for the 2011 ODI World Cup, which India eventually won, left a huge impact on Rohit Sharma. However, it was the tour prior to that when he vowed to transform himself.

“Back in 2011 when he wasn’t selected for the ODI World Cup, I kept on telling him to work hard because he had put on a little weight. There was a series against West Indies before the World Cup and one of the new channels flashed his photo, with Yuvi Paa [Yuvraj Singh]. His belly was encircled with arrows pointing at it repeatedly,” Nayar said.

“That was the moment I could never forget. We saw that on TV and he told me, ‘Let’s work on this.’ A few days later, the World Cup squad was out and he wasn’t there. After that he changed his approach, he changed the way to go about his career… and that’s where he became the ‘Hitman’,” he added.

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Abhishek Nayar came to Rohit Sharma's aide and indeed he lost weight

Determined to prove his prowess again, Rohit Sharma made Abhishek Nayar his guru and swore to follow his lead.

“There were a lot of things told about Rohit. ‘Two-minute Maggi man’ and whatnot,” Nayar told further.

“That was the point he really thought to change himself. I still remember, he said, ‘Nayari, tu jo bolega main karunga but jab main IPL mein jaaunga to season ke baad log bolein ki ye wo Rohit Sharma nah hai (I’ll do whatever you’ll say. But after the upcoming IPL, people should say this isn’t the same Rohit we saw earlier).

Hard work paid off, as within a short span of time, the work he put on was visible on his body.

“He had a four-pack [abs]. In a month and a half, he lost around 6-8 kilos. In the next 5-6 years, people kept saying that he is hard work was unmatchable. He was passionate and wanted to prove himself,” he added.