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India captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka, from December 22.
Rohit, who missed the first Test in Chattogram due to a thumb injury which he sustained during the second ODI against Bangladesh, will no longer be travelling to Dhaka as he continues to recover from his thumb injury in Mumbai.
Rohit injured his thumb while fielding in the slips in the second ODI, and was immediately flown home with the aim of having him ready for at least the second Test. Scans after the incident revealed that he had a dislocation that needed a few stitches.
In the absence of regular captain Rohit, vice-captain KL Rahul will continue to lead India in the second and final Test of the series while Cheteshwar Pujara will serve as his deputy. India is currently leading the two-match Test series by 1-0, after winning the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram by 188 runs.
As per a report, Rohit’s unavailability emerged on Monday, December 19, after it was found that the skipper’s thumb has not fully healed and is suffering from a little bit of stiffness.
“Considering the important assignments ahead for the Indian team, the BCCI, the selection committee and the team management have decided not to risk him at this stage,” added the report.
Following the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, India are scheduled to play their first series in 2023 with three T20Is and as many ODIs against Sri Lanka starting from January 3. They will then be playing a similar series of three ODIs and as many T20IS against New Zealand starting from January 18.
The squad for the white-ball series will be announced in due course. The white-ball series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand will be followed by a four-match Test series at home against Australia starting from February 9.
However, it still isn’t clear if the new selection panel will be announced before choosing India’s squad for the home season. As of Monday, no interviews had taken place.
“It is learnt that Rohit, currently in Mumbai, would have managed to bat through the Test but concerns remained over the risk involved while fielding. The medical team and the team management felt that injury could get serious on the field if he gets hurt again on that thumb,” further said the report.
With Rohit now not available for the Dhaka Test, Shubman Gill is expected to open with KL Rahul in the second test. In the first test in Chattogram, Gill scored his maiden Test hundred in the second innings, while his opening partner Rahul, struggled to score runs in both innings.
If Rohit would have been available for the second Test in Dhaka, the Indian team management would have faced a huge selection headache on dropping either Rahul or Gill. Currently, India has Abhimanyu Easwaran as the reserve opener in the squad.
On Monday morning, the Indian team arrived in Dhaka after securing a 188-run win in the opening session on the final day of the first Test in Chattogram, on Sunday. They are now expected to have two training sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday before the start of the second Test from Thursday, December 22 at the Shere-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.
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