India suffer double blow as Rohit and Ishant ruled out
India will have to do without the services of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma during the first two Tests against Australia, while they are doubtful for the remainder of the series as well.
Rohit suffered a hamstring tear during the IPL and is yet to near full fitness. The soonest he can leave for Australia will be the second week in December, after which he would still require two further weeks before a final decision on his selection can be made.
The earliest possible date he can arrive in Australia is December 8, at which point he will need to spend 14 days in quarantine, so the soonest he can join training is December 22. Had he travelled with the rest of the touring party, he might have been available sooner.
Ishant, meanwhile, is fit to bowl after recovering from an abdominal strain, also in the IPL, but needs four weeks of bowling to be ready to play in a Test match. Should he leave for Australia immediately, and spend 14 days in quarantine, he could be ready for the third Test in Sydney, starting on January 7.
This will mean neither is able to take part in the two warm-up games that precede the first Test in Adelaide, which begins on December 17.
Touring squad in training
The Indian touring squad has already begun training while in quarantine since they flew over to Australia, from a bio-bubble in the UAE to another secure facility Down Under.
Should Rohit be ruled out completely, the Indian selectors will likely call up Shreyas Iyer. Already a regular member of the white-ball teams, he averages a healthy 52.18 at First Class level but is yet to make his Test debut, although he did spend some time as back-up to Virat Kohli in the 2016-17 home series against the same opponents.
India’s bowling contingent is also in good shape despite Ishant’s absence: Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are in the squad already while reserve bowlers Kartik Tyagi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Ishan Porel could also be considered.
The first Test, a day-night affair, begins on December 17 in Adelaide.
Latest
-
NewsEngland could stage remaining IPL games in September as counties contact ECB
It is believed the matches could be wrapped up in little over a fortnight if a model of two games a day and three on weekends was adopted.
-
NewsOn This Day in 1988 – Worcestershire’s Graeme Hick scores 405 in single innings
Hick set a 20th-century County Championship record six years before Brian Lara broke it with his 501 not out for Warwickshire.
-
NewsJofra Archer shows flashes of top form on return from injury
Archer continued his return to action in a Second XI County Championship match at Hove.
-
NewsChris Jordan says suspending IPL ‘the right call’ as he awaits return to England
There has already been plenty of debate over whether the tournament should have continued as long as it did during a public health emergency.
-
NewsOn this day in 2011: Alastair Cook was named as England’s new ODI captain
Cook replaced Andrew Strauss, who retired from one-day cricket, while Broad took over from Paul Collingwood.
-
NewsFormer Australian Test cricketer victim of targeted kidnapping, police say
MacGill played 44 Tests for Australia and took 208 wickets.
-
NewsEngland contigent start to return home after IPL postponed due to coronavirus
The majority of England’s players at the tournament are expected to fly home imminently.
-
NewsEnglish contingent aiming to secure flights home with IPL postponed due to Covid
Positive cases in three of the eight franchises effectively proved that the players’ bio-secure bubbles were no longer able to stave off the threat.
-
NewsQ&A: What’s happened to this year’s IPL and what does it all mean?
There are 11 English representatives still involved.
-
NewsIPL postponed with immediate effect amid rising coronavirus cases in India
The BCCI does “not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved” in organising the tournament.