Star India batter Rohit Sharma has said that although Test cricket is mentally very challenging and draining, all players are brought up playing first-class cricket and hence they know how much hard work it takes to shine on the biggest stage in the longest format. Rohit, who scored 4,301 runs at an average of 40.58 in 67 Tests, retired from the longest format in May, a year after stepping away from T20Is, where he had signed off by leading India to a World Cup win. On Monday, Rohit looked back at some of that time during a CEAT event while speaking on preparations for big moments 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,” Rohit said while speaking at the event in Mumbai. “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 Indian ODI captain 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 star 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. He has been out of action for over two months now, last having played in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2025 for the Mumbai Indians, which they lost to the Punjab Kings.