Rohit Sharma to travel to Australia on December 13 to participate in last two Tests

India’s swashbuckling opening batsman Rohit Sharma finally passed the fitness and skill test held on December 11 at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. The batsman has now been declared fit by the physio and would be travelling to Australia to join the Indian contingent for the highly-anticipated four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Mumbai Indians skipper had sustained a hamstring injury in a game against Kings XI Punjab and had reached NCA after IPL 2020 to undergo rehabilitation.

As Rohit cleared the final fitness assessment, he would be boarding a chartered flight over the weekend from Mumbai to Dubai and from there would take a flight to Sydney on December 13. However, the batsman would be available for selection in the last two games only as upon reaching Sydney he would have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The batsman would be kept in a facility separate from the team’s bio-secure bubble and is likely to join the Indian contingent after Christmas in Melbourne, subject to the travel restrictions between Sydney and Melbourne. Thus he would not play the first and second Test match against Australia starting from December 17 in Adelaide and December 26 in Melbourne.

The availability of Rohit Sharma in the last two Tests is a massive boost for India

However, there is no confirmation on whether Rohit would be allowed to train while being in quarantine or not. The Indian team was allowed to train and practice during their 14 days quarantine period but neither Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) nor Cricket Australia (CA) has spoken about the same in regards to Rohit Sharma.

There is also a question on whether Rohit would be match ready after coming out of the quarantine. But the Indian management took this chance to send the opening batsman to Australia as there is an eight-day gap between the second and third Test. The final two Tests will take place in Sydney from the 3rd of January and Brisbane from the 15th of January.

All being said, the availability of Rohit Sharma for the last two Tests is a massive boost for the Men in Blue as the Indian skipper Virat Kohli is all set to miss the last three Test matches against Australia. Kohli will travel back to India after participating in the first Test to be with his wife Anushka Sharma during the birth of their first child.