Even before the start of their Australia tour, India are suffering from injury issues. Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are now ruled out of the first two Tests of the upcoming four-match series. Rohit is already not the part of the ODI and T20I squads and is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Also, to be in contention for the last two Test matches, the BCCI will have to swift and decisive action. Moreover, for Ishant Sharma to be able to play the third Test in Sydney starting January 7, will have to board the plane immediately due to the 14-day quarantine rule in Australia. He needs four more weeks to be match-fit and his fitness can only be judged after he plays in a proper game (warm-up game).

Rohit Sharma can only travel by December 8

Rohit Sharma’s case is entirely different here. According to ESPNCricinfo, NCA can clear him for travel by December 8 at the earliest and then he will have to serve the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Moreover, both Rohit and Ishant will not be allowed to train while being in quarantine like the rest of their teammates are currently doing. The players who travelled directly from UAE, just moved from one bubble to other.

But Rohit Sharma and Ishant both are not in bubble at the moment in the NCA. Also, according to a BCCI official, Rohit could’ve played the whole Test series if he had travelled with the team to Australia from UAE itself. It has been understood that India’s limited-overs vice-captain is away from full fitness for quite some time now and will need another two weeks of rehabilitation to reach 70-80% match ready.

While nothing is official yet, Shreyas Iyer might stay back in Australia if Rohit Sharma is ruled out of the entire Test series. As far as Ishant Sharma’s replacement is concerned, India have taken the likes of Kartik Tyagi and Ishan Porel with them as net bowlers. Also, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini are already part of the Test squad.