Rohit Sharma.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has reacted to Rohit Sharma's omission from India's tour Down Under, saying that the selectors will rethink his position if he's fit ahead of the much-awaited tour. Ganguly further mentioned that Ishant Sharma can also be a part of the series if he recovers in time.
Rohit was a prominent name missing from India's ODI, T20I and Test squads for the Australia tour. The Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper, currently in the UAE with his IPL franchise, has missed the last four fixtures due to hamstring injury.
Rohit had picked the injury during MI's clash with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) which had gone down to a double Super Over. In Rohit's absence, Kieron Pollard is leading the Mumbai side which was the first one to book a playoffs berth.
“We are monitoring Ishant and Rohit. Ishant is not completely out. He will become a part of the Test series. With Rohit, we want him fit for Australia. At some stage, if he is fit, I am sure the selectors will rethink his position," Ganguly was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Rohit's exclusion from the national side had raised a few eyebrows as the MI skipper was spotted batting in the nets hours after the squad announcement. In place of Rohit, selectors have named KL Rahul as the vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is.
Ganguly further also stated that it will be a tough task for India to contest against Austrian batting unit. The hosts will be equipped with the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. However, the Indian pace unit has Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Navdeep Saini to match them, according to the former India skipper.
“Australia in Australia is always tough. They will be a lot stronger with Smith and Warner back. Players like Labuschagne have become better. It will be a good test for India, but they are capable of winning. It will be a good series. It’s a 50-50 chance for both teams. Runs on the board will be important. Whoever bats well will win the series,” he said.
“India has the pace attack to match Australia. There is (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, (Navdeep) Saini. The attack is as good as Australia’s,” Ganguly added.
