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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 16 (ANI): Indian skipper Rohit Sharma bonded and practiced with youngsters Ayush Mhatre and Indian Test batter Sarfaraz Khan on Tuesday.

Both Ayush and Sarfaraz took to their Instagram accounts, sharing stories of their interactions with the ‘Hitman’. Rohit gifted Ayush a bat, while Sarfaraz was seen observing and chatting with Rohit in the nets.

Mhatre thanked Rohit for the bat, captioning the story, ‘Not just a gift, but an inspiration. Thanks @rohitsharma45 Da.’

India U19 recently played a five-match ODI series and a two-match Test series against England from June to July. India secured the ODI series by 3-2, and the Test series ended in a draw.

Mhatre, who rose to prominence with a solid season for five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) this year in the Indian Premier League (IPL), led the Indian team in both formats. Although his ODI outing was poor with just 28 runs in five innings, he went ballistic during the Test leg of the tour, topping the red-ball charts with 340 runs in four innings at an average of 85.00 and a strike rate of over 103, with two centuries and a fifty.

In the first Test, he had made 102 and 32. Both matches ended in a draw, with Team India settling for a draw in the second Test, ending the proceedings at 290/6 while chasing down 355 runs.

Mhatre blasted 126 in 80 balls during the second Test while chasing, with 13 fours and six sixes. His century in 64 balls is the third-fastest in U19 Test cricket, behind Moeen Ali (56 balls) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (58 balls).

For CSK this year, Mhatre was one of the few positives in a wooden-spoon finish season, scoring 240 runs in seven matches at an average of 34.28 and at a strike rate of 188.97, with a half-century and best score of 94. With his youth and hard-hitting approach, he was a breath of fresh air in an inconsistent, ageing batting line-up.

After years of domestic cricket toil, Sarfaraz, 27, got to make his debut in Tests under Rohit Sharma at home against England in February. Since then, he has made 371 runs in six Tests at an average of 37.10, striking at a healthy 74.94, with a century and three fifties in 11 innings and best score of 150. He last played for India at home against New Zealand at Wankhede in November last year.

Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket in May ahead of India’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 starting tour of England. From 2013-25, Rohit played 67 Tests for India, scoring 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57, with 12 centuries and 18 fifties. His success in the longest format peaked in 2019-2024 as an opener, as he ended up as India’s leading ICC WTC Test run-getter at one point, with 2,716 runs in 40 Tests at an average of 41.15, with nine centuries and eight fifties.

Rohit, along with Virat Kohli, both of whom have retired from T20I and Test cricket, will now be seen in action during a three-match series against Australia from October 19 onwards.

The ‘Hitman’ is an undisputed ODI all-time great, with 11,168 runs in 273 matches and 265 innings at an average of 48.76 and a strike rate of 92.80, with 32 centuries and 58 fifties. He is India’s fourth-highest ODI run-getter.

He has a fine ODI record in Australia, with 1,328 runs in 30 matches and innings at an average of 53.12 and a strike rate of over 90, peeling off five centuries and four fifties in the Aussie land with the best score of 171*. (ANI)