As India crashed to big defeats in the first two ODIs against Australia, many fans were thinking about a player who was missing.
Over the last few years, Rohit Sharma has been a vital part of India’s success in the format. He injured his hamstring during the IPL and the consequent mismanagement in the aftermath has seen miss the white-ball section of the tour and most probably the Test matches too.
Things came to a boil when India skipper Virat Kohli, in a press conference, revealed that the team had no update on Rohit’s condition.
Also read: Kohli vs Ganguly vs Rohit – An Indian standoff that keeps getting messier
“From the time that the selection meeting happened to the IPL finishing, and now when this email came about his assessment in the NCA, there’s been no information, there’s been lack of clarity and we’ve been playing the waiting game on this issue for a while now; which is not ideal at all,” Kohli had said.
The BCCI responded to the outburst by sending out a media release at almost midnight the very same but they haven’t looked to address the matter by holding a press conference. The damage, in a certain sense, was already done.
Former Team India batsman VVS Laxman was surprised by the communication gap between the BCCI and the India team management.
“I feel that in the first place he (Rohit Sharma) should have been selected and the communication gap is something which is disappointing,” Laxman said on the Star Sports show Cricket Connected. “I am really surprised because in this age of communication where there are so many WhatsApp groups, there’s usually a group mail which goes around, I’m sure a group between the team management, the chairman of the selection committee and the in-charge of the medical team of the BCCI [exists].”
That said, Laxman isn’t quite sure why two senior players couldn’t sort out the matter on their own.
Usually, everything is updated to the team management and everyone is kept in the loop. So, I am not sure why is there a communication breakdown as far as this case is concerned and we are talking about two senior players.”
Gautam Gambhir believes the situation could have been handled better. No, it should have been handled better.
“It’s very unfortunate, because….he’s the captain…..Virat Kohli….see again, he’s gone into the press conference, he’s told the media that he had no clue about the update,” Gambhir said on the Star Sports show Cricket Connected. “Probably, the three most important people in this entire scenario are the head physio, your head coach and your chairman of selectors. So, all these people should’ve been on the same page and your head coach should’ve actually updated Virat Kohli on that front as to what’s the update on Rohit Sharma.”
Gambhir added: “You’re going into the press conference and saying that he had no clue about the injury or the update on Rohit Sharma’s injury, which is very, very unfortunate, because somewhere down the line, he’s an important player and at the same time, there could’ve been a much better communication and co-ordination, which was lacking somewhere.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!