Former Indian batter Abhishek Nayar has revealed the turning point in Rohit Sharma’s career ahead of the ODI series against the West Indies. Nayar said a new channel posted a photo of Rohit Sharma with a circle on his belly, and the image got stuck in the batter’s mind.

Rohit went in to work on his fitness and has been a consistent performer for India. Furthermore, Rohit has worked hard on his fitness in the last couple of years and lost 10 kgs of weight. The veteran batter wants to be part of the ODI World Cup despite doubts raised about his future.

Abhishek Nayar said on Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, “We used to argue a lot because I trained heavily, while he relied more on skill. I would tell him, ‘Come on, let’s hit the gym,’ and he would say, ‘Leave it, I will score runs.’ There was nothing wrong with that mindset; fitness culture and the Virat Kohli phenomenon had not yet transformed Indian cricket. The turning point came when a news channel published his photo with a circle drawn around his belly. That image stuck in his mind.”

Meanwhile, Rohit was not picked for the 2011 ODI World Cup, and his omission had a deep impact on him. The former Indian assistant coach, Nayar, said Rohit then entered the IPL season with a four-pack body.

“When the World Cup squad was announced and he was not selected, we were at his house. He expected to be picked. IPL was scheduled to take place after about a month and a half, and he told me, ‘Nayar, whatever it takes in these six weeks, I need to enter the IPL with at least a four-pack.’ People may not believe it, but he entered that IPL with a four-pack. For him, skill was never the issue. It was always about fitness and using that to elevate his skill set,” said Nayar (via the aforementioned source).

Rohit will be seen in action in the upcoming ODI series against the West Indies.