So, Rohit Sharma’s hamstring injury is not as simple as he made it look. The latest one hears is the Mumbai Indians captain, who played in the Indian Premier League despite a hamstring tear is far from being “fully fit” and will definitely miss the first two Tests in Australia.
At a time when the hype over the series is peaking, it has now been confirmed Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Ishant Sharma will both miss the first two Tests. Worse, given the tight quarantine protocols in Australia, even when the two are cleared to fly out of India, it may be too late.
When most of the Indian players (over 30 in number) flew out from Dubai to Sydney, they went straight into quarantine. The players have resumed training but they are very well aware of the Covid-19 regulations in Australia and what it is to stay in another bio bubble.
Back to Rohit Sharma, when he first got injured in the IPL, the news was bleak. Call it bravado or pressure from the Mumbai Indians franchise, he played again in the IPL, including the final. Now it is certain resuming play in the IPL did more bad than good to the superstar batsmen.
For the record, two weeks ago both coach Ravi Shastri and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has made it clear Rohit was far from fully fitness. That is the reason why the Mumbaikar was not picked for the white-ball shorter format games (T20 and ODIs).
At a time when there is a lot of uncertainty in Indian cricket with Virat Kohli set to return to India after the first Test, matters have got worse. Kohli will return to India on paternity leave, and Rohit being unavailable is bad news. It only goes to show how much damage the IPL has done to Indian cricket before such an important series.
It is now more or less certain, Ajinikya Rahane will have far greater responsibility on his shoulders. The mind games are being played out already in Australia. This is going to be one hell of a tour for the Indians. The IPL nashaa is over. It is now time for reality.
Mr. S. Kannan
Senior, Sports Journalist
