Former opener Gautam Gambhir questioned Ravi Shastri's role in the whole Rohit Sharma injury fiasco, saying the head coach should've been quick to seek information on the batsman's hamstring niggle and update it to skipper Virat Kohli.
In a press conference before the ODI series opener versus Australia last Thursday (November 26), Kohli admitted he had "no information" as to why didn't his limited-overs deputy and all-format opener travelled with the team down under.
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Kohli's outburst only further raised the question mark on communication channels within the Indian set-up.
"It's very unfortunate, because he's the captain. Virat Kohli, he's told the media that he had no clue about the update. Probably, the three most important people in this entire scenario are, the head physio, your head coach and your chairman of selector," Gambhir said on Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.
"So, all these people should've been on the same page and your head coach should've actually updated Virat Kohli on that front as to what's the update on Rohit Sharma."
In Rohit's absence, India have already lost the ODI series at the beginning of their tour.
"You're going into the press conference and saying that he had no clue about the injury or the update on Rohit Sharma's injury, which is very, very unfortunate, because somewhere down the line, he's an important player," Gambhir added.
"And at the same time, there could've been a much better communication and co-ordination, which was lacking somewhere."
Rohit, who turned up for his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) in the later stages of this year's competition, is not yet recovered at the NCA in Bangalore since returning to early India last month.
Rested from the white-ball leg of the tour, Rohit will next be assessed on December 11 when his Test series participation will be decided. Even if cleared on that day, Rohit is set to miss the first two Tests because of the necessary 14-day quarantine regulation in place amid COVID-19 pandemic.
"He (Rohit Sharma) should have been selected (originally) and the communication gap is something which is disappointing. I am really surprised because in this age of communication where there are so many WhatsApp groups, there's usually a group mail which goes around," said VVS Laxman, present on the show along with Gambhir.
"I'm sure there is a group between the team management, the chairman of the selection committee and the in-charge of the medical team of the BCCI. Usually, everything is updated to the team management and everyone is kept in the loop."
"So, I am not sure why was there a communication breakdown as far as this case is concerned and we are talking about two senior players," he added.
(Inputs from PTI)
