Reports: Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma set to miss Australia Test series; team management asks for Shreyas Iyer as cover

With only a handful of days remaining for India’s international series against Australia, the ruckus, surrounding Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma doesn’t seem to end. Their fitness has been an area of concern from the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and nothing concrete has been known about their participation in the matches in Australia.

Both cricketers are undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, but the team management isn’t aware of the progress they are making. If reports are to be believed, both are unlikely to board the flight for Australia. As per reports, head coach Ravi Shastri hasn’t been communicated about Rohit and Ishant’s availability.

Ravi Shastri apprehensive about Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma’s availability

“He (Rohit) was never going to play the white-ball series, they were just looking to see how long he needed the rest because you can’t afford to be resting for too long. If you need to play in the Test series or any red-ball cricket, you’ve got to be on the flight in the next three or four days. If you aren’t, then it’s going to be tough.

“It’s a similar case (Ishant’s injury) to Rohit. You don’t really know how quickly he’ll be available to fly out. As I said, if anyone has to play in the Test series, he has to be on the flight in the next four or five days. Otherwise, it’s very difficult,” Shastri was quoted as saying to ABC Sports.

In the meantime, as per Insidesport, Shreyas Iyer might be called up as a cover for Rohit. Iyer has played ODI and T20I cricket but is yet to make his debut in the whites. If Rohit misses out, it’s expected to be a big blow for Team India as he has scored 556 runs with two tons and one double century after being asked to open the batting.

For Ishant, the team management is also looking to retain one of the players from the white-ball squads for the Test series. The speedster was earlier ruled out of IPL 2020 due to a rib cage injury. Rohit, on the other hand, had a hamstring injury but returned to play in the business end of the tournament.