Rohit Sharma was not named in Team India’s squads for the upcoming Australia tour last month on fitness grounds.
While BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said that the board will do everything to get Rohit on the park, it is learnt that the veteran opener will not be travelling with the Indian team for the tour Down Under unless he clears a fitness test.
“Rohit won’t travel to Australia unless he clears a fitness Test conducted by Team India physio Nitin Patel. Unless Patel and the National Cricket Academy declare him fit, Rohit is not going to Australia,” a source in the BCCI told TOI.
The source also confirmed that skipper Virat Kohli has written to the board that he might skip as many as three Tests in Australia due to personal reasons.
“However, we’re keen to see that Rohit is fit in time for the Test series, considering that Virat has written to the Board that he may miss as many as three Tests due to personal reasons in January," he added.
It is worth mentioning here that Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting the birth of their first child in January.
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.
Team India will also play three ODIs (November 27-December 2) and as many T20Is (December 4- December 8) in Australia.
