The Indian captain said he did not know why Rohit Sharma was not on the flight with the team.
Subsequently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) swung into action and provided clarity over Rohit’s availability.
See Also: BCCI gives update on Rohit and Ishant’s fitness; Natarajan added to ODI squad
According to a Mumbai Mirror report, a conference call was organised involving all the stakeholders related to Rohit’s rehab and injury management, and efforts are being made to put the India white-ball vice-captain on the plane to Australia.
“Everyone was part of a conference call and things have been clarified. Rohit will go to Australia and his travel plans are being made,” an office-bearer of the BCCI quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.
He also disclosed that Rohit did not board the flight in Dubai on November 11 with the rest of the Indian squad because of personal reasons.
“His father had Covid and he is also a heart patient. Not everyone was aware of the problem... These are personal issues,” the office-bearer explained, stating that Kohli was not aware of Rohit's personal situation.
Addressing the press conference in Sydney on Thursday (November 26), Kohli said he did not know why Rohit was not on the flight with the team.
“... he played in the IPL, so we all thought he’d be on that flight to Australia, which he wasn't. We had no information whatsoever on the reason on why he is not traveling with us,” the Indian captain wondered on the eve of the first ODI.
Both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are racing against time to get fit and fly to Australia for the Test series which includes time in quarantine.
The BCCI added both their names to the Test squad, pending full recovery. However, head coach Ravi Shastri recently that the two of them need to be on the flight to Australia at the earliest if they are to play in the four-Test series.
The battle for the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy will kick-start with the pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval on December 17. Melbourne will host the second Test from December 26 while the third and fourth Tests will be played in Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7-11) and Brisbane's Gabba (January 15-19), respectively.