Why his fitness test wasn't done a couple of days earlier is something we don't know but if that had happened then he could well have been available for the second Test match too.
Rohit Sharma during the second Test against SA at Pune last year. Pic/AFP
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has raised a question concerning the date of Rohit Sharma's fitness test conducted at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore earlier this week. Rohit, who sustained a hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League-13, cleared the test, which enabled him to be part of the Test series in Australia from the January 7-11 , 2021 third Test at Sydney.
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"Not having two crucial players [Virat Kohli is not available after the opening Test at Adelaide Test] is a huge blow to the visitors. Sharma has now been declared fit which means he will be available for the last two Test matches. Why his fitness test wasn't done a couple of days earlier is something we don't know but if that had happened then he could well have been available for the second Test match too.
"What was so sacred about December 11th that could not be done on December 8th is something that's not out in the public domain. It's hard to imagine that the muscle on 8th December was not ready but was so three days later. Looking at the struggles of the Indian openers in the two warm-up games against the Australia A, albeit on pitches that had bounce does stress the importance of having someone of the class of Rohit Sharma at the start to open the innings and put pressure back on the bowlers," Gavaskar wrote in mid-day on Sunday.
The second Test will be held in Melbourne (December 26-30), the traditional Boxing Day cricket battle while Brisbane hosts the the fourth Test from January 15. India have won only one Test series in Australia since 1947-48. The triumph came in 2018-19 when Kohli's team won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 through victories in Adelaide and Melbourne.
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