Veteran opener Rohit Sharma and pacer Ishant Sharma were not named in Team India’s squads for the upcoming Australia tour last week due to their respective injuries.
When BCCI announced the Indian squad, a media release stated that the medical team will monitor the progress made by Rohit and Ishant Sharma.
However, Rohit hit the nets minutes after the team was announced and Mumbai Indians (MI) shared a video of his batting session on social media platforms.
The video came as a surprise for the fans as the MI skipper was seen batting in the nets without much discomfort.
Meanwhile, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Saturday (November 7) cleared the air by saying that everything is being done to make sure Rohit and Ishant play Tests in Australia.
Ganguly also disclosed the date which has been set for Ishant to get back to bowling at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Notably, Ishant had sustained a rib injury while being part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise in the IPL 2020 last month.
"Fingers crossed for Rohit Sharma, Ishant's injury is not that serious. Rahul Dravid at the NCA is monitoring him they are working on his fitness. He will be back to bowling on November 18 which is not far and the Test matches begin from December 17, which is a month away from that.
"But BCCI has come out with this new rule that for a fast bowler, if he is going back to Test cricket after an injury, he has to play a four-day game and prove his fitness before playing a Test match. Ishant will get 2 four-day games in Australia before the Test series. He will travel with the team to Australia, we will sort out the logistics," Ganguly said on India Today’s programme ‘Inspiration’.
The BCCI boss also put an end to all the controversies surrounding Rohit and Ishant's team selection.
"All must understand... The biggest job of everyone, whether its the board president, NCA head Dravid, Team India coach Ravi Shastri or captain Virat Kohli, it is to get players on the park not off it. And that's what our job is. A player may be injured now but if he recovers 7 days later he plays.
"I see a lot of reports going on saying 'what's the hurry, why is he been picked now, why somebody else has been picked?'. It doesn't matter. If your best player is fit, he goes and plays. Today if Virat Kohli says 'I'm fit' won't it be stupid to leave him in Mumbai and not take him to Australia?
"As captains, coaches your itching that 'this is my marquee series' and I need him on the park. So you do everything to get him on the park. And BCCI will do everything to get Rohit on the park and see how it happens," Ganguly stated.
