After Virat Kohli's 'lack of clarity' remark, BCCI issues statement on Rohit Sharma's injury

A day after Indian skipper Virat Kohli had stated that there is 'uncertainty and lack of clarity' over Rohit Sharma's injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday issued an official statement to reveal as to why the Indian opener did not travel with the rest of the national squad to Australia after the conclusion of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL).

Earlier, Rohit Sharma--who missed most of the second-half of the Mumbai Indians' campaign in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a recurring hamstring injury--was rested for India's limited-overs fixtures against the Aaron Finch-led side.

However, the Indian opener was included in India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The BCCI has now revealed that Rohit headed back to India following the IPL in order to attend his ailing father. After ensuring that his father was fine, the Indian opening batsman travelled to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) where he is undergoing rehabilitation, the board added.

The country's cricket governing body further revealed that Sharma's next assessment will be conducted on December 11 after which his participation in the Test series against Australia will be confirmed.

"He is presently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Rohit Sharma’s next assessment will be conducted on December 11th following which the BCCI will have clarity on his participation in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia," the BCCI said.

"Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai after the IPL to attend his ailing father. His father is now recuperating well and that has allowed him to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation," it added.

On the eve of the first ODI against Australia in Sydney on Thursday, Kohli was asked on Rohit's injury update and his availibility for the tour.Replying to the same, the captain had said that there was lack of communication on the issue.

“Well, before we had the selection meeting in Dubai, we got a mail two days before which said that Rohit is unavailable for selection because of the injury he picked up during the IPL. It mentioned a two-week rest and rehab period, and it said that the pros and cons of the injury were explained to Rohit and he understood that. It was the information we got by mail but after that, he played in the IPL. We all thought that he would be on the flight to Australia which he wasn’t and we had no information whatsoever on the reason behind him not flying to Australia,” Kohli had said during the virtual press conference.

He added,"After that, the only information we have received on mail is that he is at NCA and he will be further assessed on December 11. So from the time the selection meeting happened and the IPL ended and now when this mail came about his assessment, there has been lack of clarity, we have been playing the waiting game on this issue and this is not ideal at all."

It is to be recalled that there were several speculations about a rift between Kohli and Rohit last year after the latter and his wife Ritika Sajdeh had unfollowed the Indian skipper's actress wife Anushka Sharma on social media.

On a related note, India and Australia are slated to play three-match ODI and as many T20Is from November 27 in Sydney before the two sides head into the four-match Test series, starting from December 17 in Adelaide.