IND v AUS 2020: Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma set to miss Australia Test series
Ace batsman Rohit Sharma and leading pace bowler Ishant Sharma are set to miss the Border-Gavaskar Test series after failing to recover from injuries. The duo will not be able to leave on time to make it to the first Test match, which begins on 17th December in Adelaide, according to a report in the Mumbai Mirror.
Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma were rehabbing at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. Rohit Sharma suffered a hamstring strain during the second half of IPL 2020, while Ishant suffered an abdominal muscle tear and was ruled out of the IPL after playing just one game.
Australia's 14-day quarantine rule means that unless the duo reaches the country by 27th November, they will be ineligible for the pink-ball warm-up game, which begins on December 11.
The report at the NCA is believed to have been less than encouraging. A meeting of the experts ensued after which the details were communicated to the BCCI and the team management. Official communication from the BCCI is expected soon.
Ravi Shastri had said that Rohit Sharma and Ishant might not be able to leave on time
India will take on the Australians in an ODI and T20I series starting on November 27 followed by the Test matchup.
Rohit and Ishant Sharma were initially excluded from the squads of all three formats, as the BCCI was monitoring their progress. However, Rohit Sharma came out to bat and captained Mumbai Indians in the last IPL 2020 league game and also played in Qualifier 1 and the Final. This resulted in controversy with former players calling for more transparency.
Rohit Sharma was later added to the Test squad and he cleared the air around his exclusion, saying the limited-overs series would have been excess workload. The batsman also said that he was recovering well.
But recently, Ravi Shastri, the team's head coach dropped an unexpected surprise when he said that Rohit Sharma and Ishant must leave soon or they won't be able to take part in the series.
"Things could get difficult if they are asked to wait for too long, [because] then you're talking of the quarantine again, which might make it really tough for them to come just in time for the Test series," Shastri said.
If Rohit Sharma doesn't play then Mayank Agarwal could be in the fray to replace him in the limited-overs set-up. Navdeep Saini too could be in contention to make his Test debut in Adelaide as a replacement for Ishant Sharma.