The controversy over Rohit Sharma’s non-selection for the Australian tour saw a new twist on Tuesday when the right-handed hitter came out to play for the Mumbai Indians against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Rohit stayed out of the three Indian teams because he was believed to be injured, but the hitter at the pitch said he was “in shape.”
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Speaking about the situation, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri earlier this week had told Times Now that he is not part of the selection committee and therefore it was not his decision. But former India starter Virender Sehwag has raised questions about Shastri’s comments.
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“I don’t think it’s possible that Ravi Shastri didn’t know about Rohit Sharma’s situation,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz. “Even if he’s not on the selection committee, the selectors must have talked to him a day or two ago about what he’s thinking and taken his comments and input.
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“I do not agree with this statement by Ravi Shastri that he is not part of the selection committee. Even if it is not official, the coach and the captain must have spoken unofficially with the selectors about who should be in the team for the tour of Australia, “he added.
Sehwag further said that the BCCI and the selectors mishandled Rohit’s situation and if they thought he was out of shape, the board could have kept him on the team and called in a replacement early if necessary.
“I am surprised to see that a player who is ready to play in the franchise has not been selected to play in the country. This is surprising and poor management on the part of the BCCI. They should have taken all the information that if he can play for their IPL team, then he should stay on the Indian team, ”Sehwag said.
“If he got injured, they could have called in a replacement for him. But they didn’t keep him in the India squad, I don’t understand this. This is a strange year. Now what are you going to do? He played this game against SRH. He will play the playoff games. He says I’m in shape. So why didn’t you choose it?
“It feels very bad if it is bad management. Rohit Sharma and the Indian team have millions of fans and everyone was thinking why was Rohit eliminated? Have you suffered an injury so bad that you won’t be able to play for another 2-3 months? Sehwag added.
“I am quite disappointed with BCCI and the coach’s views. They could have kept it on the team and could have added an additional replacement in its place. “
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