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Hamstring injury rules Rohit Sharma out of SA Test series; Priyank Panchal named replacement

India's Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma has suffered a hit on his hand during a net session in Mumbai and the BCCI has summoned India A captain Priyank Panchal as cover for him ahead of the tour of South Africa.

Rohit Sharma sustains hit in Mumbai nets, A team captain Priyank Panchal called as cover

New Delhi, Dec 13: Team India were dealt with a blow on Monday as the Men in Blue's Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the entire three-Test series against South Africa as his old hamstring injury resurfaced during the team's net session in Mumbai where he also took a hit on his hand.

The BCCI confirmed on Monday that the opener has been ruled out of the series and will be replaced by Priyank Panchal, who scored 96 in an A Test match against South Africa A recently, as he has been called in as Rohit's replacement for the series starting December 26 in Centurion.

In a statement released by BCCI on Monday, Jay Shah said, "Team India Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma sustained a left hamstring injury during his training session in Mumbai on Sunday.

"He has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa. Priyank Panchal will replace Rohit Sharma in the Test squad."

The 34-year-old Rohit also sustained a hit on his hands at the Mumbai nets while taking throwdowns from Raghavendra aka Raghu.

Earlier, a BCCI official had told PTI, "Yes, Rohit did suffer an injury on his hand but even after that he had batted. So we can presume that hand injury isn't serious. But thereafter, it seemed the old hamstring problem resurfaced once again and it might take some time before he is fully fit and available.

"They are trying to sort it out. Hamstring injuries normally take four weeks which could effectively rule him out of Test series," a senior BCCI source told PTI on Monday.

As of now, the extent of Rohit's injury is not very clear. It is not known whether it's a strain which is a less serious injury or a tear, which will have to be graded.

"There are some issues but the medical team is trying to sort it out," a source close to the cricketer told PTI.

The BCCI is yet to share the details of his scan report which will ascertain the degree of the injury. "Any hamstring injury, even the lowest grade takes a month to heal with rehabilitation sessions. In Tests we have Mayank Agarwal ready to open with KL Rahul, who could potentially be the vice-captain.

"And now we have Priyank Panchal also as cover. We would be hoping that he is fit and ready for the ODI series," the source added.

It is learnt that Panchal reported at the team hotel this evening. "Panchal has been asked to report at the Mumbai team hotel tonight. He is there as a cover for Rohit. Also because he recently played in South Africa and scored runs, he was asked to join," an official associated with the India A team informed.

Panchal is no greenhorn as he has 100 first-class matches under his belt with 7011 runs, including 24 hundreds. He has been a part of a very successful Gujarat team that won the Ranji Trophy under Parthiv Patel and has been an India A captain.

He was fighting for the reserve opener's slot with Abhimanyu Easwaran but pipped the Bengal man as the latter batted at No.3 in the A series.

(With inputs from PTI)

Story first published: Monday, December 13, 2021, 19:46 [IST]
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