MELBOURNE: Rohit Sharma had an injury scare in the India nets on Sunday, copping a painful hit on his left knee while facing throwdowns at the MCG nets. The captain was into his trademark pull shot when he missed, the ball sneaking through the flap of the pad and hitting him painfully on the knee.
He kept batting for a while but then needed attention from the physio and chose to leave the nets, rest his leg on a chair and apply an ice pack for a good half hour.
He subsequently got up and was seen walking around and mingling with teammates, pointing to his knee and smiling.
Minutes later, pacer Akash Deep, who was himself hit on the hand while batting, brushed aside any major concerns for the team. “No concern, itni chotey to lagti rahti hai (it’s common to sometimes get hurt). The practice area was prepared for white-ball purposes, it seems. The ball was keeping a bit low.”
Minor controversies have dogged India since arriving in Melbourne, with Virat Kohli first having a run-in with an Australian reporter and a cameraman at the airport over filming his children and then Ravindra Jadeja being criticized for not answering questions in English. Rohit is under pressure to come good in his new middleorder slot while Akash Deep, after his satisfying performance in Brisbane, is expected to play a crucial role in the Boxing Day Test.
Wasn’t looking to avoid follow on, says Deep Akash Deep also clarified he and Jasprit Bumrah, the last-wicket pair which heroically avoided the follow-on in the previous Test in Brisbane, were simply looking to play out balls and survive.
“Whenever we bat, scoring those 20-30 runs is vital. I didn’t think about saving the follow-on, I was just looking at not getting out. I’m happy that I was able to give the team some confidence from that situation. We’ll carry that momentum into the MCG Test,” he said.
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