Before the first ODI against New Zealand, Team India has arrived at Vadodara International Cricket Stadium. However, Rohit Sharma was one notable participant who did not attend the session. While the rest of the team practiced for the series, the opener was not present.
The last time the former captain was spotted was at a Reliance Foundation-hosted event called “United by Triumph” in Mumbai, where he was celebrated alongside World Cup-winning captains Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepika TC of the Indian Blind women’s team.
The Indian players, including skipper Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul, and coach Gautam Gambhir, were seen working hard in the nets in a tweet shared by the BCCI.
New year, fresh start 💪
📸 Glimpses from #TeamIndia‘s first training session in Vadodara ahead of the #INDvNZ ODIs 👌@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/itTwA5fKDF
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 9, 2026
In addition to the 38-year-old, two other well-known celebrities were absent from the practice session: Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja. Pant and Jadeja represented Delhi and Saurashtra, respectively, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Jay Shah told Rohit Sharma, “I will call him captain only.”
In a touching video, Jay Shah, who was also in Mumbai for the event, referred to Rohit as captain even though he had resigned from his position. Shah was discussing India’s recent World Cup victories in men’s cricket while on stage with Nita Ambani.
“This is where our captain sits. Since he has guided the squad to two ICC trophies, I shall just refer to him as captain. Speaking at the United in Triumph event, Shah stated, “After winning ten straight games in the 2023 World Cup, we were only able to win hearts and not the trophy.”
India’s first international match of 2026 will be the ODI series versus New Zealand. The first game between them and New Zealand will begin on January 11 at BCA Stadium in Kotambi.
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