Team India head coach Ravi Shastri
Team India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that it will be very difficult for Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma to be part of the impeding Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia if they do not board the flight in the next three to four days. The Test series against the Aussies begins on September 17 in Adelaide.
Rohit and Ishant are currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru recovering from their respective injuries that they had incurred during IPL 2020 in the UAE. They are undergoing strengthening and rehab as they gear up for a return to be part of the Test series where India will be defending the Border-Gavaskar series having claimed a historic 2-1 win in 2018/19 in Down Under.
"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," Shastri told ABC Sport while speaking of Rohit. "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."
The Australian government has made 14-day quarantine mandatory. The Test series will begin in Adelaide with the pink-ball game under the lights. Prior to the game, the Indian squad will play a warm-up game on December 11. In a bid to be part of the warm-up game, they need to reach 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 on Rohit not being part of the limited-overs squads. "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, Rohit clarified that he did not opt out of the limited-overs fixtures for the tight schedule, and rather said that his hamstring was "feeling absolutely fine". Ishant, meanwhile, has begun bowling under the watchful eyes of NCA head Rahul Dravid.
"It's a similar case to Rohit," Shastri said. "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."
