AUS vs IND: Team India warmly welcomes Rohit Sharma

The Indian cricket team can finally breathe a sigh of relief as their opening batsman Rohit Sharma joined the squad after successfully completing his 14-day mandatory quarantine period in Sydney in a two-bedroom flat. Rohit had suffered a hamstring injury while playing against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Thus, after the conclusion of the Indian league, instead of boarding the flight to Sydney with the Indian team, Rohit had travelled back to India to undergo rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. The right-hander had worked on his fitness issues in his one-month stay at NCA and cleared his fitness test earlier this month.

Look who’s joined the squad in Melbourne ?

A warm welcome for @ImRo45 as he joins the team ?#TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/uw49uPkDvR

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 30, 2020

After getting approval from the physiotherapists at NCA, Rohit travelled to Sydney but couldn’t join the team owing to the harsh Covid-19 quarantine rules in the country. In the same light, the Mumbai Indians captain was unavailable for selection in the first two Test matches against Australia in Adelaide and Melbourne respectively.

However, he finally completed his quarantine and joined the Indian team. Thus, Rohit can now feature in the last two games of the four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, starting from January 7 and January 15 in Sydney and Brisbane respectively.

Rohit Sharma warmly welcomed in the team hotel

The Indian team is currently residing in Melbourne and had to reach Sydney on December 31. However, owing to a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Sydney, Cricket Australia (CA) made a slight change in the itinerary and the Men in Blue will now be reaching Sydney only on January 4.

As Rohit Sharma joined the Indian squad in Melbourne, the official Twitter handle of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a sweet video where the opening batsman can be seen interacting with his teammates. Rohit was warmly welcomed in the team hotel as he was greeted by his teammates, including the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, and Jasprit Bumrah among others.

In the video, Rohit can also be seen having a candid conversation with the head coach Ravi Shastri as the latter asks him about his quarantine and fitness. “How was quarantine, my friend? You’re looking younger,” Shastri can be heard saying in the video.