Indian cricket team has been taking fitness very seriously for a long time, but under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, they have been even more strict. There's no negligence on a high standard of fitness and players who fail to match the standard miss out from the squad.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has shared his opinion on the ongoing discussion around Rohit Sharma's fitness. He feels Rohit not being 100% fit is the reason behind missing out from the squad touring to Australia.
“From Ravi Shastri’s statement, it reads to me that they want him to get more conditioned in the body. Maybe he’s not quite as fit. We know the kind of bus Virat Kohli drives is a very fit one. If you are not part of the fit bus, you kind of get moved aside, does not matter who you are. That’s the matter, maybe he is not as fit as he could be,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
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Vaughan added that there should be clarity behind the exclusion of Rohit from the squad. “If Rohit Sharma has got an injury, tell us what the injury is. Make it very clear, that look he’s got a hamstring problem. Fine, not a problem, we understand that is why he is not playing. If it is just that because he is not playing because he might get injured, I have never heard that before in my life,” he said.
“I have never heard that in a cricket team. A batsman is not playing because he might get injured. I have seen it with bowlers, like in football, a player might reach a stage where they have played so much that injury is minutes away - I have seen that with bowlers. I have never heard the same with a batsman.”
“I am intrigued about the next week or so - how it plays with Rohit Sharma, if he does play, then surely he is going to Australia. I can’t see why he would not go to Australia if he is playing in the IPL.”
Vaughan feels the situation could have been handled better by the team. “I am intrigued about the way it’s been handled. It’s very odd and strange that it’s not open and honest. It seems like it doesn’t need to be the way it is. It’s Rohit Sharma - if he’s injured, tell us he’s injured. That’s not a problem - players do get injured,” he said.
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit surprised everyone by taking the field on Tuesday against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2020.
(WITH CRICBUZZ INPUTS)
