Rohit Sharma’s omission from the Indian teams for all three formats on their Australian tour next month has raised questions about his involvement in the remainder of this IPL season. At the same time, however, it does not imply that the door is closed to your performance at some point during the tour.
While the BCCI press release with the team’s details simply stated that its medical team would “continue to monitor [Sharma’s] progress “, there was no news of a possible injury. Nor has there been any official statement from the Mumbai Indians, of whom he is captain, as to whether or not he will play the rest of this season.
He has not played for Mumbai since the loss to Kings XI Punjab on October 18. Minutes before the launch in their final match, against Chennai Super Kings on October 23, Mumbai issued a statement saying Sharma had “suffered a left hamstring strain” against Kings XI.
However, when the BCCI announced the teams, Sharma was attending Mumbai training in Abu Dhabi, where he hit for the first time since injury. The franchise tweeted a photo of Sharma on social media a couple of hours after the team’s announcement, and a video of him “in full flow” about an hour later.
seconds of RO in full flow!#A family #Mumbaiindians #ME # Dream11IPL @ ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/65ajVQcEKc
– Indians of Mumbai (@mipaltan) October 26, 2020
This lends credence to the growing belief that Sharma could play later this IPL season and, indeed, in Australia. In fact, although neither Mumbai nor the BCCI have disclosed the severity of Sharma’s injury, it is understood that the board’s medical team warned the player not to take chances as it would affect his availability for the Australian tour.
The warning from the BCCI medical team is understandable because it is the second time Sharma has injured his left leg. In February, Sharma was forced to return home from New Zealand after tearing his left calf muscle during the T20 stage of that series.
However, all this has created an air of uncertainty about his physical condition and has drawn some criticism. Sunil Gavaskar, speaking about Sports star, called for “transparency and openness”, while noting that Sharma would not be in the networks if the injury were serious. “A little bit of transparency and openness about the type of injury he has will help everyone, because Indian cricket fans deserve to know,” he said.
“I understand that the franchises do not want to shake hands because they want to win the game and they do not want the opponent to get any psychological advantage.” [but] We are talking about the Indian team. “
Sharma had suffered the injury in the match against Kings XI, who had entered a second Super Over. Sharma had hit in the first Super Over, but was pinned down by Mohammed Shami, who pitched five Yorkers to concede two runs and help Kings XI defend the five-run goal. It was while completing a single on the penultimate installment of that that Sharma is believed to have injured his hamstring. He did not return for the second Super Over, with Kieron Pollard in charge then, and since then, as the captain of Mumbai.
That same statement from Mumbai said Sharma was making “good progress”, but that he watched Mumbai most recent game, against the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, from the bench.
In August, Sharma admitted that it would be a challenge for him to return to cricket in the IPL after a six-month hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And it hasn’t been easy for him: He has scored 260 runs starting in nine games with two of fifty and a strike rate of 129.
Mumbai ‘s next three matches are on October 28 (against Royal Challengers Bangalore), October 31 (Delhi Capitals) and November 3 (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
Mumbai, the defending champs, currently top the points table and are favorites to reach the playoffs on Nov. 5-10.
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