Here's why Rohit Sharma has been excluded from Australia tour

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally announced the squad for the India tour of Australia. India is scheduled to tour Australia for a three-match ODI and T20 series followed by a four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian cricket team has been out of action since the tour of New Zealand in February this year. They were supposed to play an ODI series against South Africa at home in March, but COVID-19 ensured that didn’t happen.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee met via video-conference on Monday to select the Indian Cricket Team for the upcoming Tour of Australia. However, a shocking exclusion from the Australian tour is of India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma. Sharma hasn’t been named in the squad of any of the three formats of the game. Revealing the reason for Rohit’s exclusion, the BCCI stated that Rohit is injured and the medical team is continuously monitoring the progress of the opening batsman.

Notably, the Mumbai Indians captain Rohit had suffered a hamstring injury during the game against Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over in the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League and has been out of the playing XI of the franchise since then.

BCCI will continue monitoring the progress of Rohit Sharma

BCCI tweeted, “NEWS – Four additional bowlers – Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan – will travel with the Indian contingent. The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma.”

NEWS – Four additional bowlers – Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan – will travel with the Indian contingent.

The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor the progress of Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. #AUSvIND

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2020

The pacer Ishant Sharma was also ruled out of the ongoing T20 extravaganza as he was diagnosed with an abdominal muscle tear while practicing in the nets for Delhi Capitals. Sharma is currently undergoing rehabilitation in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) where his clinical assessment was carried out.

Other than Ishant and Rohit Sharma, the pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant were also absent from the squad for the limited-overs format. While Bhuvneshwar had injured himself in a match during the Indian Premier League, it is speculated that Pant has been termed unfit by the Indian board owing to his physique and weight. However, Pant has been included in the squad for the longest format of the game.

Virat Kohli will captain the Indian cricket team in all three formats while KL Rahul has been named as the vice-captain for ODI and T20 series in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Ajinkya Rahane will don the cap of vice-captaincy for the Test team.