India have been struck with a blow as Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma both have been ruled out of the first two tests against Australia.
Their chances of making it to the final two tests is also not clear as they are yet to gain full fitness. In order to be considered as an option for the third test, Ishant Sharma will have to take four weeks of workload for a high tempo and exhausting Test-match play and also board in a flight as immediate as today.
Apart from all this, Australia also have a 14-day quarantine procedure and that will mean he can only resume training after a while.
After several more weeks, if things work fine then Ishant will be eligible to feature for the third Test in Sydney that commences on January 7.
For Rohit Sharma, things are more complicated as he still needs two more weeks of rehabilitation and only then, he will be cleared to fly to Australia.
As per some sources of BCCI, things could have been simpler if Rohit travelled with the squad directly from UAE. He is very unlikely to make it in time as even after arriving on 8th December, he will have to serve a mandatory 14-day quarantine, which will keep him out from training until at least 22nd.
Ishant Sharma is fit and running for a T20 game as there are only four overs to bowl but to feature in a test match, he will have to work harder.
Another problem from them is that no kind of concessions will be granted to them because they are not in a bio-secure bubble at the moment at National Cricket Academy in Bangalore where they have been training.
If they had been in a bubble then there would have been legitimate chances of a day or two's concession.
In case if Rohit is ruled out, Shreyas Iyer is already available for them. If Ishant is ruled out, there are options galore too as Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami are there.
Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and Kamlesh Nagarkoti are also ready as they were brought on board as reserve bowlers.
Featured image credits- Cricshots
