Rohit Sharma during practice session on Tuesday. Pic: Twitter Rohit Sharma during practice session on Tuesday. Pic: Twitter Rohit Sharma during practice session on Tuesday. Pic: Twitter Team India skipper Rohit Sharma suffered a slight injury scare on Tuesday just a day before the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia, which will be played at the Oval.
Sharma, while the practice session at the nets, got hit on his left thumb and was immediately attended to by Team India physio Kamalesh Jain. He got his thumb taped and left the net session thereafter as a precautionary measure.
Senior sports journalist Boria Majumdar tweeted that Sharma was attended by Team’s physiotherapist Kamalesh.
“Physio was seen applying the tape. While Rohit puts his gloves back & goes into nets but then decides against,” he tweeted.
The India skipper returned to the field after some time, though he did not take part in the drills.
Though, nothing much is known about the ‘level of injury’, Sharma's absence from the practice session has sparked speculations about his presence at the Test match which will start tomorrow.
Earlier emphasising that sport is all about winning championships, Sharma said he wants to win one or two major titles before he quits as the leader of the pack.
India’s inability to win an ICC title in the last 10 years, despite numerous opportunities, has been discussed consistently ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, starting Wednesday at The Oval.
Sharma had taken over from Virat Kohli as all-format captain after the latter stepped down following the Test series defeat in South Africa in early 2022.
A day before the big final, Sharma was asked about the legacy he would like to leave as captain.
“Whether it’s me or someone else, even the guys before, their role was to take Indian cricket forward and win as many games, as many championships as possible. For me also, it will be the same. I want to win games, I want to win championships. That is what you play for,” Rohit said during the pre-match press conference.
“And yeah, it will be nice to win some titles, win some extraordinary series.
But yeah, like having said that, I genuinely feel that we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves by overthinking about these kinds of stuff.
“As a captain, like I said, every captain wants to win championships, So I’ll be no different. I also want to win the championship. And that’s what the sport is all about, winning the championship. So for me, it will be nice if I can win one or two championships, as in when I decide to move on from this job.” On another nippy and overcast morning in London, Rohit was among the four squad members who turned up for optional practice.
Team India will face Australia at The Oval in the much-awaited World Test Championship (WTC) final from June 7 to 11. Australia won four of the six series they contested in the 2021-23 World Test Championship cycle, beating England (4-0 at home), Pakistan (1-0 away), West Indies and South Africa (both 2-0 at home).
They drew 1-1 with Sri Lanka away and lost 1-2 to India earlier this year, their win in Indore securing their spot as the top team in the final.
(With agency inputs)