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India sorely missed their vice-captain Rohit Sharma in the 1st ODI against Australia as Josh Hazlewood blew away the top order within the first powerplay.
The Mumbai Indians skipper, who played a match-winning knock in the final of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) against the Delhi Capitals, is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He didn't board the flight with the rest of the team to Sydney, and as a result, he might miss out on the Test series altogether.
A closer look at the events that have transpired since Rohit Sharma first got injured reveals a complete lack of communication between all parties involved.
Rohit Sharma's injury saga (in chronological order)
On October 18, Rohit Sharma picked up a hamstring injury in the Mumbai Indians' thrilling win over the Kings XI Punjab, and didn't come out to bat in the second Super Over that KL Rahul's side eventually won. He didn't play in the next 5 games for the team in IPL 2020.
On the day of MI's game against the Chennai Super Kings (October 23), the franchise released the following statement, claiming that Rohit Sharma's recovery is going well.
“Rohit Sharma has suffered left leg hamstring strain during Mumbai Indians’ last outing. Rohit has made good progress over last four days, while the management is taking one day at a time monitoring the recovery process in consultancy with BCCI,” MI said in a media release.
On October 26, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the squads for all 3 formats for the tour of Australia. Rohit Sharma was excluded from all three squads, but Mayank Agarwal, who had also missed a few games due to injury, was named. In the press release for the squads, the board mentioned the following.
"The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma."
Soon after the announcement, the Mumbai Indians posted a video on social media of their captain batting in the nets. While this wasn't a clear indicator of match fitness, the timing of the tweet and the lack of clarity surrounding the injury raised more than a few eyebrows.
On November 1, Indian head coach Ravi Shastri tried to steer clear of the controversy, but still claimed that Rohit Sharma might be in danger of aggravating his injury and was hence excluded.
"It's being handled by the people in charge of the medical part of it. We don't get involved in that. They have submitted a report to the selectors and they have gone about their business. I have no say, neither I am a part of the selection. All I know is the medical report which says he could be in danger of injuring himself again."
On November 3, with the situation clearly escalating, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly addressed the injury for the first time in an interview with PTI. The former Indian captain warned Rohit Sharma that he has a long career ahead of him, and that he shouldn't jeopardise that for a single IPL season.
"Rohit is injured at the moment. Otherwise, why would we leave out a player like him. He is the vice-captain of the national (limited-overs) team. We will have to assess him. I don't know (when he can come back). He hasn't played so far since the time he has got injured. We want him to recover. It's the BCCI's job to get their best players on the park. If he recovers, he plays. Rohit himself knows that he has got a long career ahead and its not just this IPL or next series for him."
On the very same day, Rohit Sharma walked out to the toss for the Mumbai Indians' final league game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad even when the team had already assured themselves a spot in the top two. In the post-match presentation after a 10-wicket humbling, the 33-year-old said that he is 'absolutely fine' when Mark Nicholas asked him about his hamstring.
On November 9, the BCCI made some changes to their squads, and added Rohit Sharma to the unit taking part in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They stated in the following press release that they have decided to rest him for the white-ball games.
"The BCCI Medical Team has been monitoring Rohit Sharma’s fitness and has briefed All-India Senior Selection Committee on the same. In consultation with Mr Sharma, it has been decided to rest him for the ODIs and T20Is in Australia to regain full fitness and he has been included in India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy."
Two days later, the Indian contingent travelled from the United Arab Emirates to Sydney, where they were quarantined ahead of the limited-overs series. Rohit Sharma flew back to India, with no official word on the matter.
Later, it was reported that he did so in order to be with his ailing father, but captain Virat Kohli claimed ahead of the 1st ODI against Australia that he thought his deputy would be on the flight.
“It was the information we got by mail but after that he played in the IPL. We all thought that he would be on the flight to Australia which he wasn’t and we had no information on the reason behind him not flying to Australia."
On November 13, despite everyone's insistence that Rohit Sharma was fit and that he was merely being rested, Ganguly asked reporters to 'find out from Rohit himself' in an interview with The Week.
"Rohit is still 70 per cent (fit). Why don't you find out from Rohit himself? That is why he is still not picked for the ODIs and T20s down under. He has been added to the Test squad."
On November 19, Rohit Sharma travelled from Mumbai to Bangalore's National Cricket Academy, where he is currently undergoing rehab.
On November 21, after weeks of controversy and speculation, the man himself finally broke the ice surrounding the situation in an interview with PTI.
"I don't know what was going on, to be honest and what all were people talking about. But let me put this on record, I was constantly communicating with BCCI and Mumbai Indians. I told them that I can take the field since it is the shortest format and I will be able to manage the situation quite nicely."
Rohit Sharma claimed that his hamstring is 'feeling absolutely fine'. In the very same conversation, he bizarrely added that there is definitely more work to be done on the injury.
"Hamstring is feeling absolutely fine. Just started the process of getting it nice and strong. Before I play the longer format, I absolutely needed to be clear in mind that there is no stone that is left unturned, that's probably the reason, I'm at the NCA. Of course, there is still some work that needs to be done on my hamstring. That's why I didn't go to Australia for the white-ball leg as there are back-to-back games."
On November 22, Shastri added fuel to the fire by saying that Rohit Sharma was always going to miss the white-ball leg of the tour - information that wasn't given in any of the previous press releases or statements by Ganguly. He added that the classy opener might find it tough to make it to Australia on time for the first two Tests.
"He's (Rohit) going through some tests at the NCA. They will decide on when he could be back, but things could get difficult if we have to wait for too long (speaking about the 14-day quarantine in Australia). It could become tough for him to come just before the Test series.
"He (Rohit) was never going to play the white-ball leg of the tour, we needed to know how long he needed to rest, but you can't afford a long period of rest. If he's going to play red-ball cricket in the build-up for the Tests, he needs to be on the flight within the next 4-5 days. If he can't, it's going to be tough."
On November 25, sources close to the board claimed that no one asked Rohit Sharma to head to the NCA for his rehabilitation and that it has affected the Indian team's preparations for the high-octane series.
“But then, he has to undergo a 14-day quarantine. What’s the point? And solitary quarantine can drive anyone crazy. By the time he regains any sanity, three Tests will be over. Does the team really need this?"
“Rohit Sharma was expected to board the flight with the rest of the team on November 12. But he chose not to and instead headed to the National Cricket Academy. Nobody in the BCCI knows who asked Rohit to head to the NCA...Whatever the confusion, it has dented the team’s preparations."
Yesterday (November 27), the board issued another contradictory statement, saying that Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai to be with his father and that the next fitness assessment will be conducted on December 11.
"He is presently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Rohit Sharma’s next assessment will be conducted on December 11th following which the BCCI will have clarity on his participation in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia."
"Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai after the IPL to attend his ailing father. His father is now recuperating well and that has allowed him to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation."
What does Rohit Sharma's injury saga mean for the Indian team?
The whole controversy raises a number of questions.
Why doesn't Indian captain Virat Kohli know about the whereabouts of his own vice-captain, and why is the BCCI conversing with him via e-mails?
Why wasn't the information about Rohit Sharma's father's situation made public earlier? It is certainly a sensitive topic that the batsman might have wanted to keep private, but there's no reason why Ganguly or the board couldn't have stated 'personal reasons' instead of providing misleading information.
Why didn't the board know that Rohit Sharma was flying back to Mumbai and wasn't going to board the flight to Sydney with the rest of the team?
We may never get the answers to these questions, but one thing is clear - there is a major communication gap between all parties involved, and it certainly isn't a good look for Indian cricket.
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