Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma has arrived in London early to begin preparations for the upcoming three-ODI series against England, starting on July 14 in Birmingham. TimesofIndia.com has learned that Rohit has already had several full stints in local clubs in and around London with his close friends and local footballers.Slough Cricket Club, located in the heart of Berkshire, was Rohit’s first venue before moving to Swyncombe Cricket Club near Blondin Park. Rohit, who now plays only ODIs for the country, wanted to familiarize himself before joining the team in Birmingham. A seasoned campaigner knows the intricacies of the game in such situations and wants to be well prepared before the mission begins. The 39-year-old enjoys playing for England and has the best ODI record. In 27 matches, the right-hander has scored 1428 runs at an average of 64.9 and hit seven hundreds – the most by visiting batsmen. Rohit did not play much cricket due to a hip injury before the ODI against Afghanistan, but still managed to finish the job on a high by knocking 79 runs in Chennai. It wasn’t a good start but the veteran driver hit the right gear and looked on top before being dropped by Mohammed Nabi. India will desperately need its experienced batting to fire on all cylinders against England as the T20I team is in the midst of a formidable show. The batsmen have failed to adapt to the conditions, and are clearly nursing a batting paradise in the IPL. There were concerns about Rohit’s fitness ahead of the Afghanistan game, but he batted and batted without any issues and is believed to be in good shape ahead of the Birmingham, Cardiff and London games.
