Rohit Sharma missed a few games for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The MI skipper was reported to be recovering with a hamstring injury which he suffered during the Super Over against KL Rahul-led Kings XI Punjab on October 18.
The All India Selection Committee announced the squads for the Australia tour on October 26 and Rohit’s name was missing from all the three squads. The selectors didn’t even mention the reason for Rohit’s exclusion, only confirming that the BCCI medical team would constantly monitor the 33-year-old batsman.
However, Rohit was later included in India’s Test squad as BCCI have granted captain Virat Kohli paternity leave, and the latter would be leaving Australia after the first Test in Adelaide.
Now, Rohit has finally cleared the air regarding misconceptions about his injury and the subsequent confusion over the Australia series.
“Hamstring is feeling absolutely fine. Just started the process of getting it nice and strong. Before I play the longer format, I absolutely needed to be clear in mind that there is no stone that is left unturned, that’s probably the reason, I’m at the NCA,” Rohit told PTI.
“So for me, it was not a concern what x, y or z was talking about like whether he would make it to Australia.”
The Nagpur-born returned to lead MI in the last league match and then smashed a 50-ball 68 in the final against Delhi Capitals (DC), thereby helping his team to lift the IPL trophy for the record fifth time.
“I told them (Mumbai Indians and BCCI) that I can take the field since it is the shortest format and I will be able to manage the situation quite nicely. Once I made my mind clear, it was all about focussing on what I needed to do,” the MI skipper added.
Rohit though confirmed that he managed the situation well, but he was still not a 100 per cent fit, meaning he couldn’t risk being part of the limited-overs series against the hosts Australia.
“Of course, there is still some work that needs to be done on my hamstring. That’s why I didn’t go to Australia for the white-ball leg as there are back-to-back games. Around six games in 11 days.
“So I thought if I get to work on my body for 25 days, I can probably go and play the Test matches. So it was an easy decision for me and I don’t know why it became so complicated for others,” Rohit added further.
