India’s squad for the Australian tour, their first assignment since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, has been forced to undergo plenty of personnel changes as the BCCI has taken into account the injury concerns and personal requests.
There has been plenty of speculation about the availability of various players including that of captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The BCCI in a press release on Monday announced that Kohli will return after the first Test in Adelaide and will be on paternity leave. Kohli and his wife Anuskha Sharma are expecting their child in January.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, who is understood to be carrying a hamstring injury will be rested for ODIs and T20Is and has been included in the squad for the Test series in Australia.
Rohit had injured his hamstring in the IPL league stage match against KXIP and subsequently missed four games before returning to the line up against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final round-robin game. He is expected to lead out the Mumbai Indians in the final against Delhi Capitals on November 10.
Last week former India captain Sourav Ganguly had said that he was looking forward to Rohit being fit for the Test series. Reports on Monday (November 9) indicate that after the IPL he will undergo fitness tests with the Indian team physios before a final decision is taken. The medical team is monitoring his progress.
A call on Wriddhiman Saha’s availability will be taken later as well after senior wicketkeeper batsman picked up injuries to both his hamstrings in the IPL game against the Mumbai Indians. Saha had played a big role in taking SRH through to the playoffs but had to sit it out.
The BCCI confirmed that they have also added wicket-keeper Sanju Samson in the ODI squad and Ishant Sharma, who is recovering from an injury will be added to the squad once he is fit.
Ishant had been ruled out of the IPL after the first game with an abdominal muscle tear. Sharma had suffered a back spasm while training in the UAE before the start of the IPL .
Last week, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was very optimistic about Ishant Sharma’s recover.
“Rahul Dravid at the NCA is monitoring him they are working on his fitness. He will be back to bowling on November 18 which is not far and the Test matches begin from December 17, which is a month away from that.
"But BCCI has come out with this new rule that for a fast bowler, if he is going back to Test cricket after an injury, he has to play a four-day game and prove his fitness before playing a Test match. Ishant will get 2 four-day games in Australia before the Test series. He will travel with the team to Australia, we will sort out the logistics," Ganguly told India Today.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has also been ruled out due to a shoulder injury is being replaced by Sunrisers Hyderabad’s yorker machine T Natarajan, who gets his maiden call-up for the national team.
Young Kamlesh Nagarkoti will also not be travelling to Australia as he is still working with the medical team on his bowling workload management.
India begin their tour of Australia with the first ODI on November 27 in Sydney. The three-match ODI series will be followed by three T20Is before the four-match Test series commences.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)