"Wrists were hurting so much" - Rohit Sharma on how he battled through pain to shine in England Tests

Rohit Sharma has said that he battled through wrist pain due to a changed batting stance during India's tour of England earlier this year.

He was one of the standout performers when India toured England for a five-match Test series earlier in the year. India lead the series 2-1, with the fifth match postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the visitors' camp. The series decider will now be played next year.

Rohit Sharma was the second-highest scorer in the series, with 368 runs. The opener scored one century and two fifties as India took an unassailable lead in the series, with one match to go.

Speaking to Boria Majumdar in his show 'Backstage with Boria', the senior India batter said that he changed his stance for the series. He held his bat closer to his body, which meant his wrists were hurting, as they weren't in their usual positions.

"I changed certain aspects of my stance, keeping the hands closer to my body, and while doing that, my wrists were hurting so much because I was not used to doing something like that," said Rohit Sharma. "And to suddenly change, obviously your muscles are not used to that. It’s going to hurt, but I was prepared for it."

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Rohit Sharma praises India's throwdown specialists for his success in England

Rohit Sharma also said that the preparation time India had ahead of the series in England helped the team fare as well as they did.

India had played the World Test Championship final at Lord's in June. They then stayed back in England for the series starting against the hosts in August. Sharma said that that allowed the team adequate time to prepare for the series, saying:

"I think a lot of credit has to go to the preparation that we had. We had 15-20 days to prepare after the WTC to prepare for this series."

Sharma said that one of the key factors in succeeding in England was preparing mentally and technically for the bowlers he was going to face and the seaming conditions. He said:

"After travelling to England so many times, we do understand what to expect from their team, and I know what’s going to come at me when I’m facing the first ball."

"So, just training in that fashion, training my mind firstly, that James Anderson is the guy who’s going to hold the new ball, and he’s going to swing the ball away from me, which will come into my pads. So how do I prepare for that?".

He went on to credit India's throwdown specialists for helping the batters prepare better for the marquee series, saying:

"Luckily, we’ve got a throwdown guy, who’s pretty similar. He does chuck the ball from the slingers. His name is Daya. He played a big part, to be honest, in getting my preparation right. Along with, of course, Vikram (Rathour), Raghu and those guys as well."

Sharma went on to explain how the different throwdown experts helped him prepare better, saying:

"Raghu is someone who bowls back of a length, Daya just swings the ball up front. Vikram is steady, keeps it there, and we’ve got a left-armer as well – Nuwan from Sri Lanka. These guys are the ones actually I want to give a lot of credit to for whatever I did in England. It was brilliant, the way they prepared. Keep defending, keep defending, leave the ball."

Both Rohit Sharma and his opening partner KL Rahul were in great form during the series against England.