Rohit Sharma ruled out of second Test against Bangladesh

PTI, Dec 20, 2022, 2:01 PM IST

India skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the second Test against Bangladesh, starting here on Thursday, as he has not made a full recovery from a thumb injury.

Rohit had flown back to India to see a specialist after injuring his left thumb while fielding in the second ODI against Bangladesh here on December 7.

He is under the care of the BCCI medical team following his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

Pacer Naveep Saini, who had made a comeback into the Test team, is also out of the game with an abdominal muscle strain. ”The medical team is of the opinion that the injury needs some more time to heal completely before the Indian captain can bat and field with full intensity. He will continue his rehab and will not be available for the second and final Test against Bangladesh.

”Navdeep Saini is also ruled out of the second Test owing to an abdominal muscle strain. The fast bowler will now report to the NCA for further management of his injury,” said the BCCI in a statement.

It is understandable why the management did not want to risk playing Rohit. India have a busy home season lined up with Sri Lanka and New Zealand visiting for a limited overs tour next month and that will be followed by the high-profile Test series against Australia.

Saini’s injury does raise a few questions on his fitness. He represented India A in the two games in Bangladesh ahead of the Tests and was deemed fit. He did not play the first Test, though.

Saini’s last Test appearance came in Brisbane in January last year when India pulled off a win for the ages.

K L Rahul will continue to lead the side in Rohit’s absence with Cheteshwar Pujara being his deputy. India lead the two-Test series 1-0 after a convincing win in Chattogram. India’s updated squad for 2nd Test against Bangladesh: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat.