Rohit Sharma cleared to play in Afghanistan ODIs? Details here
What's the story
According to a PTI report, Indian batter Rohit Sharma has been cleared to play in the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan. The decision comes after a thorough assessment of his hamstring injury at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. The 39-year-old had suffered the injury while batting during an IPL 2026 match and missed several games before returning for the final leg.
Fitness doubts
Concerns over Rohit's fitness
Despite MI coaches regularly assuring that he was fully fit after recovering from his injury, there were still concerns over his fitness for 50-over cricket. This was mainly because he played several matches as an Impact Player, only coming on as a batter and not fielding for 20 overs. The BCCI had said his participation in the ODI series against Afghanistan was subject to fitness clearance.
Positive development
Rohit gets all-clear from CoE
According to PTI, Rohit has been given the all-clear by the Sports Science team at CoE. This development comes as a major boost for both India and Rohit himself. The veteran cricketer is in a position where he can't afford to miss too much cricket and needs to regularly prove his fitness ahead of the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup.
SquadÂ
Rohit included in India's squad
Rohit was included in India's squad for the upcoming ODIs against Afghanistan. The team, led by Shubman Gill, will miss Virat Kohli, who has been ruled out with an injury. Yashasvi Jaiswal was named Kohli's replacement. Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey.