Rohit Sharma might have to undergo surgery: MSK Prasad

The Indian selectors picked the team for the first two Tests against England today in Mumbai. While the team had one surprise pick in all-rounder Hardik Pandya the one missing name that got most people wondering was that of middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma. Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad while addressing the media after announcing the team talked about the Mumbai batsman’s injury as well as the other picks in the team.

He said that Rohit “has a bad (thigh) injury and might have to undergo a surgery. It could take anything between 6-8 weeks.” Prasad also said that openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul are both nursing injuries and the selectors weren’t sure if they are match fit yet.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar who replaced Ishant Sharma in the Test series against New Zealand also sustained a back injury and missed out on the last Test. Kumar has regained fitness but Prasad said that they want him to him to play a Ranji Trophy game and prove his match fitness before they bring him back in the team. Same was the condition for Rahul and Dhawan who are rehabilitating from a hamstring and finger fracture respectively.

Hardik Pandya’s inclusion wasn’t an expected one and thus most of the questions were about his selection. Prasad said that his “all-round abilities” and a lot of change in his attitude having worked under the watchful eyes of India A coach Rahul Dravid helped him make the cut.

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“If you look at Hardik Pandya, his pace has increased. His overall personality has mellowed down. He did extremely well in the ODI series and also during the A tour Down Under,” Prasad told the media present.

“We all have been trying to find an all-rounder after Kapil Dev. In case we play three spinners, he can be the second seamer and also can bat. We all know he is a bit hyper. But he has worked hard under Rahul Dravid and under chief coach Anil Kumble.”

They have also picked Karun Nair as a reserve batsman and Jayant Yadav as the additional spinner in the squad along with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra. “We have been grooming him (Nair) for the last one or two years,” said Prasad.

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