Rohit Sharma 'badly injured', to remain out of action for six to eight weeks

Mumbai, Nov 2: India batsman Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against England due to a thigh injury, which may need even a surgery, and is going to miss out the entire series against English.

Ind-Eng series schedule; England squad against India; India Test squad announced

Informing media persons about Rohit Sharma's injury chief selector MSK Prasad informed that in best case scenario the aggressive right-handed batsman will be out of action for next six to eight weeks.

"Unfortunately we have all seen on TV that Rohit Sharma has been badly injured. There is a chance of surgical intervention. He will be assessed in England. In case itis required, he will undergo surgery," said chief selector MSK Prasad while announcing the squad for the first two Tests against England. (Hardik Pandya gets maiden Test call-up)

"Without surgery Rohit is out for six to eight weeks and it could be more in case he needs a surgery," he added.

"(We are) definitely not (considering) him for the Test series. In case he does not require a surgical intervention, then 6-8 weeks (for recovery) and if it (surgery) is required then it could be more," Prasad said.

"It was somewhere close to the hip (or) leg. It's on the upper thigh region (of the right leg)," the chief selector added. "The thigh muscle tendon has been injured for which he will be assessed by the specialists (in England)," intervened Dr MV Sridhar, BCCI's general manager, cricket operations. Injuries have upset Sharma's Test career in the past too.

Rohit had performed well during the Test series against New Zealand. In Test series mostly dominated by bowlers, Rohit hit 3 fifties in as many Tests. His gritty innings of 81 against New Zealand in the first innings of the Kolkata Test paved way for India's victory.

Rohit had also played a crucial 70-run knock against Kiwis in the decider ODI game at Visakhapatnam. Team management will, thus, have to look for Rohit's replacement in either Karun Nair or Hardik Pandya.

The Test series against England will continue till December 20 while the visitors will return in the new year following a break to play the ODI series.

Thus, it will be interesting to see if Rohit features in the limited overs' format against England or not.

Till date, the Nagpur-born batsman has played in 21 Tests and amassed 1,184 runs. The 29-year-old right-handed batsman, who has played in 153 ODIs, holds the record for the highest score by any batsman in ODIs, when he stroked his way to an amazing 264 versus Sri Lanka at Kolkata in November 2014.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)