IND vs AUS | Rohit Sharma is only 70% fit, claims Sourav Ganguly
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has claimed that Rohit Sharma, who played MI’s last three games in IPL 2020, is only 70% fit and has been left out of the limited-overs squad against Australia for the same reason. Ganguly also further assured that Saha will recover completely in time for the Tests.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has yet again made a controversial remark surrounding the fitness of Rohit Sharma, and has claimed that the opener is only currently ‘70% fit’. Rohit, who missed a chunk of matches in IPL 2020 due to a hamstring injury, was initially left out of the Indian squad to tour Australia, after which he was added only to the Test squad, but then made the BCCI look silly by playing in Mumbai Indians’ last three games in IPL 2020.
The 33-year-old opener even claimed in an interview that his hamstring was ‘completely fine’, and went on to score 68 runs in the final versus Delhi Capitals, but in an interview with ‘The Week’, Ganguly has now suggested otherwise, claiming that the MI captain is currently only 70% fit.
"Rohit is still 70 per cent ," Ganguly said in an interview with The Week when asked about Sharma playing for his franchise not long after being left out of the Indian touring party for Australia on fitness grounds.
"Why don't you find out from Rohit himself? That is why he is still not picked for the ODIs and T20s down under. He has been added to the Test squad."
Despite being a part of the Test squad, Rohit was sent home by the BCCI to undergo rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru, with the board stating that the 33-year-old will be allowed to join the rest of the squad after passing a fitness test.
However, that was not the case with wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha who, despite injuring both his hamstrings, flew with the rest of the touring party to Australia. When questioned about the bizarre decision to fly Saha and send Rohit back home, Ganguly asserted that Saha ‘will be fit’ in time for the Tests and added that the wicket-keeper is being monitored by multiple people. The BCCI President further claimed that people often tend to talk ‘rubbish’ about player fitness, without having an understanding of how injuries work.
"Wriddhi is travelling to Australia because he will be fit for Tests. He is not part of the shorter formats. For the entire duration of the IPL, Indian physios and trainers were in Dubai. [India physio] Dr. Nitin Patel is managing injuries and monitoring it all.
"Who should know [about player injuries]? We know, the Indian physio knows, the NCA knows. I think people don't know how the BCCI works. The BCCI trainers, physio and Wriddhi himself know that he has two hamstring issues. People don't understand injuries, that is why they talk rubbish.”
With the Test series starting on December 17, Saha, in particular, faces a race against time to regain full fitness.