Former India batsman Virender Sehwag put national team head coach Ravi Shastri's remarks on Rohit Sharma's injury under the scanner. Shastri, in an interview with Times Now, said he isn't part of the selection committee and thus, has no influence behind Rohit's absence from the touring contingent to Australia.
The case which has led to great scrutiny and confusion over the past one week was given a massive twist on Tuesday (November 3) when Rohit returned to the Mumbai Indians (MI) playing XI and said he is "fit", having sat out four matches due to a hamstring strain.
Read Also: "Hamstring is absolutely fine", Rohit Sharma dismisses injury concerns
"I don’t think that it is possible that Ravi Shastri did not know about Rohit Sharma’s situation," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz. "Even if he is not a part of the selection committee, the selectors must have spoken to him a day or two days ago regarding what is he thinking, and taken his feedback and inputs."
"I do not agree with this statement of Ravi Shastri that he is not a part of the selection committee. Even if it is not official, the coach and captain must have spoken unofficially to the selectors regarding who should be in the team for the Australia tour," he added.
Sehwag feels the BCCI and Indian team management have "mismanaged" Rohit's case since he picked up the strain on October 18 playing versus Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
He thinks even if the prominent names thought Rohit is badly injured, they could've still selected him in the enlarged touring party and called a replacement if he didn't recover.
This sentiment, borne purely out of the fact that the Australia series was a month away from the point of selection, has been echoed by many, not just Sehwag.
“I am surprised to see that a player who is ready to play for the franchise has not been selected to play for the country," he said. "This is surprising and mismanagement from the BCCI. They should have taken all the information that if he can play for his IPL team, then he should be kept in the Indian team."
"If he got injured, they could have called in a replacement for him. But he was not kept in India’s squad, this I don’t understand. This is a strange year. Now, what you will do? He played this game against SRH. He will play the playoffs games. He is saying I am fit. Then why didn’t you pick him."
“This feels very bad if this is a mismanagement. Rohit Sharma and the Indian team have crores of fans and they all were thinking that why Rohit was dropped? Has he suffered such a serious injury that he will not be able to play for 2-3 more months?” Sehwag added.
"I am quite disappointed with the BCCI and the selector’s points of view. They could have kept him in the team - and could have added an extra replacement in his place."
