Rohit Sharma concerned with glut of injuries

Rohit said India have to address their injury concerns first. Two of India’s first-choice pacers - Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami - are also down injured with the latter having to be withdrawn from the ODI series.

Apart from Rohit, pacers Deepak Chahar (hamstring) and Kuldeep Sen won’t be available for selection for the third and final ODI.

Written by: Venkata Krishna B

4 min readChennaiDec 7, 2022 11:09 PM IST First published on: Dec 7, 2022 at 11:09 PM IST

The tour of Bangladesh is getting difficult by the day for India. On a day when they lost their second successive ODI series against their eastern neighbours, India suffered multiple injury blows including that to captain Rohit Sharma, who is now doubtful for the Test series that begins on December 14.

Apart from Rohit, pacers Deepak Chahar (hamstring) and Kuldeep Sen won’t be available for selection for the third and final ODI. “We are struggling with a few injuries,” head coach Rahul Dravid said. “It is not ideal and not easy for us. Kuleep, Chahar and Rohit will miss the next game. Rohit will fly back to Bombay (Mumbai) and consult with experts and see if he can come for the Tests. It is too early to talk about it.”

Sen was not available for selection for the second ODI because of back stiffness, and pacer Umran Malik took his place. Chahar, on the other hand, bowled only three overs and walked off the field after hurting his hamstring. Although Rohit and Chahar came out to bat later on in the match, India missed their presence on the field as Bangladesh, reduced to 69/6, got off the mat and made 271/7 with Mehidy Hasan top-scoring with an unbeaten 100.

And speaking after the series defeat, Rohit said India have to address their injury concerns first. Two of India’s first-choice pacers – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami – are also down injured with the latter having to be withdrawn from the ODI series. There is still no clarity on his participation for the Test series.

“There are a few injury concerns,” Rohit said. “We have to sit with our team back home at the NCA as well and try to monitor their workload. That is something we need to look at. We can’t afford guys coming in here half-fit and representing the country. There’s huge pride and honour in representing the country and if they’re not fit enough, it’s not ideal. Having said that, we just need to get to the bottom of it and find out what exactly is the reason behind this,” Rohit said.

Lot of question marks

Although Rohit didn’t take any names, Chahar’s fitness has undoubtedly come under the lens. In February, he tore his quadricep muscle and while undergoing rehab at the NCA, suffered a back injury that ruled him out of the entire Indian Premier League season. While he came back for the tour of Zimbabwe, a stiff back made him miss the last two ODIs against South Africa before the T20 World Cup.

With regards to Rohit, ever since he was appointed captain, there have been concerns whether he would be able to manage his workload. Since 2020, he has suffered injuries in his calf and hamstring (2020 and 2021), which is why even the selectors and the team management have been handling his workload carefully.

In case Rohit isn’t available to lead in the Test series, the question emerges who would be in charge? Since Rohit took over as captain, the previous selection panel has made KL Rahul his deputy. Although he has led Punjab Kings and Luckow Super Giants in the IPL, the jury is still out on his captaincy skills. Early indications haven’t been encouraging either.

And as Rohit went to get his injury scanned on Wednesday, Rahul’s captaincy was also under the lens. With Bangladesh 69/6 at one stage, he had a chance to put the match to bed and he had the opportunity to continue with Umran Malik – whose pace was testing the hosts. Instead, he chose to bring on Washington Sundar and Axar Patel in tandem, allowing Mehidy and Mahmuddulah to play themselves in without taking any risks.

Injuries hit India A team too

The India A team, which is currently on a shadow tour of Bangladesh, has also been hit with injuries. Rahul Chahar, Tilak Verma and Atit Sheth have returned home with injuries.