"Injury to Rohit Sharma in every overseas tour" - Fans erupt as Indian captain suffers finger injury ahead of WTC 2023 final
India captain Rohit Sharma has reportedly picked up a finger injury ahead of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, which starts at the Oval in London on June 7. The right-handed batter seemingly suffered a blow to his left thumb during an optional net session on the eve of the WTC final.
As per ANI, Rohit was hit on the left thumb and promptly got it bandaged. He did not immediately stop practicing, but eventually did. Later on, the 36-year-old took the bandage off.
Sharma had previously missed the rescheduled fifth Test against England in 2022 due to COVID-19. The opener later suffered a thumb injury during the Bangladesh tour. If he misses out on the all-important final, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane are captaincy options for Team India.
Fans on Twitter were displeased with Sharma’s injury ahead of his 50th Test. One shared a meme with the caption:
"Injury to Rohit Sharma in every overseas tour."
Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:
As far as batting is concerned, Rohit hit a century against Australia in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. He also guided Team India to a 2-1 win against the Aussies to help book their spot in the WTC final.
The 36-year-old has so far scored 650 runs in 11 Tests against Australia, including a ton and three half-centuries. In England, he has amassed 466 runs in six Tests at an average of 42.36, including a solitary ton at the Oval, which will host the WTC final. It goes without saying that India would not want to miss out on his services in the big game.
The right-hander, however, is coming on the back of a below-par IPL season, having scored just 332 runs in 16 games for Mumbai Indians (MI).
Rohit Sharma-led India squad for WTC final
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).
Standbys: Suryakumar Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, and Yashasvi Jaiswal