Indian Stalwart Rohit Sharma has shared his insights on playing test cricket, saying that the format is both ‘challenging and draining’, but he learnt to cope with its demands by focusing on preparation.

Rohit Sharma, who scored 4301 runs at an average of 40.58 in 67 Tests, retired from the longest format in May, a year after stepping off by leading India to the World Cup win in the T20 format.

Rohit Sharma looked back at some of the time during a CEAT event while speaking on preparations for a big moment during a panel discussion.

“It’s something that you prepare for, because the game demands longevity. Especially in the Test format, you have to last for five days. Mentally, it is very challenging and it is draining as well,” said Rohit Sharma.

“But all cricketers have been brought up playing First-Class cricket. When we start playing cricket at a competitive level, even in Mumbai, club cricket (matches) go on for two days or three days, so we are built like that, and it starts at a very young age for us,” Rohit added.

The 38-year old has said that not all young cricketers understand the importance of preparing well at the beginning of their careers, but they learn the significance of it slowly.

“…when I started playing the sport, it was all about having fun, enjoying it. As you go on, you start playing age-group cricket and you kind of keep moving forward from that,” Rohit said.

“Slowly, as you meet a lot of senior players (and) coaches, they talk about how important it is to prepare well. When you are very young, you don’t understand the importance of preparation,” Rohit added.

The Indian batter said that sustaining momentum for high performance in tests, starts with being fresh.

“It takes a lot when you’re playing the longest format and concentration is something that is the key, because you are speaking about high-level performance and when you are expecting to put in high-level performance, it starts with being mentally fresh all the time,” Rohit said.

Rohit Sharma has been out of action for over two months who last featured in the qualifier 02 of the IPL 2025 for the Mumbai Indians against Punjab Kings.