NEW DELHI: The extent of Rohit Sharma’s hamstring injury has intrigued batting great Sunil Gavaskar after the opener was seen practising on Monday, hours after his omission from India’s tour of Australia on fitness grounds.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit missed his team’s last two matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) currently underway in the United Arab Emirates with the injury.

The selectors omitted him — along with paceman Ishant Sharma — from both the Test and limited-overs squads and the cricket board (BCCI) said its medical team would ‘continue to monitor the progress’ without elaborating on the injury.

Hours later, the Mumbai Indians posted a video of their captain practising ‘in full flow’ in Abu Dhabi, which baffled many.

“We are talking about the test matches, which are a month and a half way,” Gavaskar told IPL broadcaster Star Sports after Monday’s match. “If he is practising in the nets for Mumbai Indians, then honestly I don’t know what kind of injury it is.

“I think a little bit of transparency, a little bit of openness about what actually is the problem with him will help everybody.”

The Indian players usually don’t comment on team selection matters.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2020