We’ve got a lot of players who are sick and not available, reveals Rohit Sharma

India will have Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back in the squad for the third ODI match between India and Australia in Rajkot, but the likes of Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and Shardul Thakur will be absent for Wednesday’s contest for a multitude of factors. 

In the pre-match press conference, Rohit Sharma revealed that there’s a viral fever going on in the team and they have the services of 13 players in the squad. Furthermore, Rohit added that with the World Cup coming up in a couple of weeks' time, it’s fine for the players to take a break and come back mentally fresh for the mega event. 

“We have got a lot of players who are sick and not available, a lot of players have personal problems so they have gone home and a few of the guys have been rested as well. We have got 13 players at this point in time,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.

"There is a bit of viral going around in the team as well. So, there is a lot of uncertainty in the team at this point in time which we cannot help. Looking at the next few weeks, it is quite important for us to look after the players and their well-being. So, it is okay for them to be at home at this point — the reason being we want everybody to be fresh during the World Cup, and hopefully they can come back fresh,” the Indian skipper added.

In the Indore ODI, Ravichandran Ashwin made a solid impact in the game, with three wickets in the middle overs that cracked the game wide open. This is the first ODI series for Ashwin since January 2022, but it has made many believe that Ashwin may make a surprising comeback to the World Cup squad. Rohit Sharma admired Ashwin's versatility while adding that it bodes well for the team. 

"You cannot take away the class and the experience that the individual has over the years, and in the last couple of games, we saw how well he bowled. He's got a lot of variation up his sleeves, and in case there is a chance, we can look at a lot of things. So hopefully, the way things are at this point in time, it does well for us because we've got all the backups and everything ready as well," Rohit said.

"We've given them enough game time, a lot of time in the middle as well. So pretty much happy with how things have planned out in the last couple of weeks."