Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma have been ruled out of the first two Tests of India’s tour of Australia. Rohit Sharma was rested from the limited-overs leg of the tour in order to give him ample time to recover for the Test series. He had suffered a hamstring tear in his left leg and still made a comeback to the IPL, leading the Mumbai Indians to their fifth IPL title. He has not recovered in time and is allowed to travel only in the second week of December according to a report by ESPNCricinfo.
Ishant Sharma was ruled out of the IPL due to an injury and went back to the National Cricket Academy for rehab. He seemed to look good and on his way to a timely recovery before the all-important Test series against Australia. However, it is understood that Ishant Sharma will need four weeks of rigorous training before he could be ready to make a comeback in red-ball cricket. This means that even if he boards the flight to Australia immediately, he won’t be available before the third Test at Sydney on January 7
“If there is a T20 game and he needs to just bowl four overs, Ishant is good to go immediately, but for him to get back to Test-match fitness, he needs four weeks of proper bowling still,” a BCCI source said.
Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma’s absence a big blow for India
India will already be without the services of their talisman Virat Kohli after the first Test at Adelaide since he will head back to India to await the birth of his first child. Thus the absence of big players like Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma will cause more problems for the Men in Blue against an Australian team boasting of big names and back to full strength. India will be hopeful that their reserve bowlers and batsmen will be able to deliver good and consistent performances in the absence of their senior players.
