Ganguly states criteria for injured Rohit Sharma's inclusion in India's tour to Australia

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly provided an update on 'Hitman' Rohit Sharma's injury and the prospects of the swashbuckling right-handed batsman making it to the squad for India's tour of Australia later this year. Rohit Sharma, who picked up a hamstring injury during an IPL game, has been warming the bench ever since and has also been left out of India's tour to Australia. With the IPL scheduled to end in a week's time, Sourav Ganguly provided an important update on the status of the Hitman's injury. 

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Speaking at an interview, Ganguly said that the selectors would rethink about Rohit Sharma's inclusion once the batsman regained his fitness. The BCCI President revealed that the Board wanted Rohit Sharma to be fit for the gruelling two-month-long tour to Australia and that the batsman could be sent to Down Under later even after the tour commences if he is fit. Ganguly also provided an update on pacer Ishant Sharma's injury, highlighting that he was being monitored by the Board and that he wasn't completely ruled out of the series and was likely to be made a part of the Test side. 

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'Rohit Sharma training regularly'

Earlier, the BCCI physio had asserted that the opener would need a minimum of 2-3 weeks to return to fitness. It has been reported that he has been hitting the nets and is making effort to regain full match fitness. Having qualified for the playoffs, Mumbai would be desperately waiting for their skipper's return to the field as they gun for another trophy in their cabinet.

"He has been training regularly. The day after the Punjab game was a rest day so there was anyway no training. But wherever the Mumbai unit has trained, he has been there and while he slowly started with working on his leg, he has been hitting the nets now. In fact, before the last game, he also took throwdowns at the ground. He is clearly making an honest effort to regain full match fitness," sources told ANI. 

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India tour of Australia 

India will kick off their tour to Australia with a three-match ODI series starting on Friday, 27 November, followed by as many T20Is and four Tests. The T20Is will be played in Canberra (4 December) and Sydney (6, 8 December). 

The first Test will be a day/night affair, from 17-21 December at the Adelaide Oval. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (26-30 December) will host the Boxing Day Test, before the action moves to the Sydney Cricket Ground (7-11 January) and the Gabba (15-19 January). With India currently on top of the World Test Championship table and Australia in second, the series is expected to be a thriller, as it will also be a part of the ICC World Test Championship. 

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