Sydney: India head coach Ravi Shastri has claimed that both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma have to be on the flight in the next four or five days otherwise it will be difficult for them to play in the Test series against Australia.
Both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are currently at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore and working hard to regain their match fitness. Recently, Ishant was spotted bowling in full swing at the NCA. While Rohit Sharma on Saturday( November 21) said that his hamstring was feeling absolutely fine, but there are few tests that still need to be done on his hamstring injury before getting back in action.
“He’s going through some tests at the NCA and they’re obviously going to decide [for] how long he needs to take a break. But things could get difficult if he’s asked to wait for too long, [because] then you’re talking of the quarantine again, which might make it really tough for even him to come just in time for the Test series.” Shastri was quoted as saying to ABC sport.
Shastri also said for featuring in the Test series will get difficult for Rohit and Ishant if they are advised to rest for a longer duration. A 14-day quarantine is currently mandatory in Australia due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For Ishant and Rohit to be out of quarantine by December 10, they would have to land in Australia on November 26.
“He was never going to play the white-ball series, they were just looking to see how long he needed the rest, because you can’t afford to be resting for too long,” Shastri said. “If you need to play in the Test series or any red-ball cricket, you’ve got to be on the flight in the next three or four days. If you aren’t, then it’s going to be tough.”
Earlier BCCI had said that Ishant is undergoing his rehab and he will be joining to India’s Test squad once he fully recovers and gains sufficient match fitness. “It’s a similar case to Rohit,” Shastri said of Ishant. “You don’t really know how quickly he’ll be available to fly out. Like I said, if anyone has to play in the Test series, he has to be on the flight in the next four or five days. Otherwise, it’s very difficult.” Shastri added.
The Australia tour gets underway with the first One-day International (ODI) of three ODIs, three T20Is and four Tests series on November 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
