Bengaluru: With only a week remaining for India Australia Test Series, there have been plenty of questions raising eyebrows over the availability of senior players Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma.
Both sustained injuries although Rohit went on to lead Mumbai Indians to a fifth IPL title, Ishant has not played any competitive cricket since being withdrawn from the Delhi Capitals squad. Now, it seems unlikely that these two will be able to make it to the Test series.
BCCI had earlier stated that the progress of both the senior players will be monitored and they were in progress to make it in time for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which is all set to be played from December 17 to January 19. However, a report in Mumbai Mirror claims that neither of Rohit or Ishant will make it in time for the Test series.
A meeting of the experts of the NCA is understood to have taken place recently when the fitness status of the duo was discussed and then informally conveyed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), national selectors, and the team management. Formal communication is expected soon from BCCI.
Both Rohit and Ishant are currently at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore and working hard to regain their match fitness.
Earlier head coach Ravi Shastri also said the duo need to board the flight in 3-4 days to be able to participate in the Tests. As a 14-day quarantine is currently mandatory in Australia due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“He (Rohit) 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. 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,” Shastri told ABC sports.
