Ind v Aus 2020: Is the IPL more important to Rohit Sharma than playing for India? - Dilip Vengsarkar

Former India batsman and national selector Dilip Vengsarkar has slammed Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, asking if playing for the club in the IPL was more important to him than suiting up for his country.

Vengsarkar was furious over Rohit Sharma playing for the Mumbai Indians after being declared unfit to travel for India's upcoming tour to Australia.

There has been a lot of confusion and controversy surrounding the hamstring injury that Rohit Sharma suffered during IPL 2020.

The selectors had omitted Rohit Sharma from India's squad for the Australia tour citing the Indian team physio’s report, which said that he needed at least two to three weeks of rest for a full recovery. However, Mumbai Indians posted a video on their Twitter handle of the batsman practising in the nets on the same day.

4️⃣5️⃣ seconds of RO 4️⃣5️⃣ in full flow!🔥#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #MI #Dream11IPL @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/65ajVQcEKc

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 26, 2020

The controversy reached another level when the 33-year-old came back and led MI in their last league game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. Dilip Vengsarkar’s strong comments came against this backdrop.

“Now, the question here is, is the IPL more important to him than playing for India? Is the club more important than playing for the nation for him? Will the BCCI take a call on this? Or is it that the BCCI physio faltered in diagnosing Rohit’s injury correctly,” Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Vengsarkar termed it as ‘intriguing’ that somebody declared unfit by the Indian’s team’s physio is playing for his club in the IPL.

“It’s intriguing that Rohit Sharma, the most accomplished batsman of Team India, who was only a few days ago declared unfit to tour Australia by the Indian team’s physio (Nitin Patel) and hence not selected for the trip, is playing and leading MI in the IPL.”

Rohit Sharma may once again be seen in action on Thursday in Qualifier-1

Mumbai Indians, who finished as the table-toppers in the IPL 2020 league stage, will take on second-placed Delhi Capitals on Thursday. Rohit Sharma is expected to lead the side in this encounter once again.

Check out the IPL 2020 schedule

Rohit's leadership and batting at the top of the order are key for the Mumbai Indians to go all the way in the tournament. But it is unclear if he is 100% fit or has come back to the team considering it is a crucial stage in the tournament.

(𝐐) 😎 pic.twitter.com/TrOwCc0p9n

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 29, 2020

In any case, BCCI’s medical team will be continuously monitoring Rohit Sharma's fitness throughout and update the selectors and the Board. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has already made it clear that the doors are not shut for him to travel to Australia in case he proves his fitness.