While the Indian captain Virat Kohli will miss the last three matches of the forthcoming four-match Test series against the hosts Australia, the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar opened up his feeling on it.
After the completion of the limited-overs series, where the hosts Australia won the ODI series and the visitors India won the T20I series (both won by 2-1 margin each), they are now getting ready for the much-awaited four-match Test series.
Indian captain Virat Kohli will lead the Indian team in the opening match of the Test series which will be played at Adelaide Oval (Adelaide) from 17th December. It will be the first-ever day/night pink-ball Test match between Australia and India. But after that Test match, Kohli will return to his home for the birth of his first child.
As Kohli will be unavailable for the last three Tests of the series, the visitors Indian team will surely miss him in this tour. Sachin Tendulkar feels that this situation can come any time, which brings up a big challenge to the team.
Tendulkar told ANI, “See, of course, Virat coming back, there is going to be one spot where a senior player who has been around for a long time, who has toured Australia, not being there, will be missed without a doubt. But it is about a team, not an individual, so had he been injured, they would have to go without him in the second Test, I am saying this hypothetically, never would I wish that, I am saying when an important member of your squad is injured, the squad has to go ahead and play without him.”
The most international run-scorer further added one of his experiences during his international career when the legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble missed out a Test match against West Indies due to the injury.
He added, “I remember one of the Tests in West Indies, when Anil (Kumble) got injured, following Test we played without him. At that time, Anil was the main bowler, these type of challenges one has met with, we have to be prepared for that.”
However, the legendary Indian cricketer has enough faith in the current bench strength of the Indian team as he praised this team.
He said, “It is about the team, so Virat won’t be there after the first Test, but the team is going to be there. We have the bench strength and that is the beauty about Indian cricket right now that we have bench strength. There would be an opportunity for some other guy to go out there and do something for the country. But with Virat not being there will obviously be missed, without any doubt, but it is about the team rather than the individual.”
If Rohit passes all his fitness tests and is cleared, then a player like Rohit should be there in Australia: Sachin Tendulkar
As Virat Kohli will miss the last three Tests of the series, all eyes are now going to the fitness report of Rohit Sharma. While he will soon appear for the fitness test, if he passes all these tests, he will reportedly travel to Australia immediately, which will help him to make himself available for the last two matches of the Test series.
While Tendulkar is unaware of Rohit’s latest fitness status, the legendary cricketer claimed that Rohit should be in Australia for the Test series if he passed all the fitness tests.
Tendulkar said, “I do not know the status of Rohit’s fitness. That is something BCCI and Rohit know, they are in touch with each other and so are the physios and team management. They would be the ideal ones to answer this. If Rohit passes all his fitness tests and is cleared, then a player like Rohit should be there in Australia. If he meets all the parameters then he should be there.”