Ahead of the start of the much-awaited tour against hosts Australia, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has provided an update over the injury status of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. While Rohit's next assessment has been scheduled on December 11th, Ishant has been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit, who was last seen in action in the IPL 2020 final where he led Mumbai Indians (MI) to their fifth title, is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Amid the conundrum over Rohit's selection for the tour Down Under, the Indian board has decided to assess his fitness on December 11th to have clarity over his participation in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scheduled to start with the first Test at Adelaide from December 17th.
After the IPL final, Rohit, instead of heading to Australia, had to come back to Mumbai to be with his ailing father. His father's recovery allowed Rohit to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation process.
Talking about Ishant, the injury-prone pacer had suffered a muscle tear in his rib cage in IPL 2020. He was ruled out of the tournament following his injury. Ishant had also suffered an ankle injury earlier this year during India's tour of New Zealand. The BCCI confirmed on Thursday that the 32-year-old has been ruled out of the four-Test series.
"While he’s building up his workload in order to achieve Test match fitness, Mr Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy," revealed the BCCI in a release.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli-led India are set to return to international cricket with the first ODI against Australia on November 27 (Friday) at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Ahead of the start of the tour, the BCCI also drafted T Natarajan into the ODI squad as a back-up after pacer Navdeep Saini complained of a back spasm.
