Rohit should've been picked, communication gap disappointing, say Gambhir, VVS Laxman

New Delhi:Former Indian cricketers Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman have been left disappointed with the way the issue of Rohit Sharma's injury has been handled by the BCCI and the current team management, pointing at the lack of communication between the two.

Sharma injured his hamstring during the IPL and that led to him missing the ongoing white-ball series (three ODIs and three T20Is) in Australia. He is also in doubt for the four-match Test series which is slated to begin from December 17 in Adelaide.

Before the first ODI, India skipper Virat Kohli, in a press conference, revealed that the team had no update on Rohit's condition.

"It's very unfortunate, because....he's the captain.....Virat Kohli....see again, he's gone into the press conference, he's told the media that he had no clue about the update. Probably, the three most important people in this entire scenario are, the head physio, your head coach and your chairman selector," Gambhir said while speaking on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

"So, all these people should've been on the same page and your head coach should've actually updated Virat Kohli on that front as to what's the update on Rohit Sharma. You're going into the press conference and saying that he had no clue about the injury or the update on Rohit Sharma's injury, which is very, very unfortunate, because somewhere down the line, he's an important player and at the same time, there could've been a much better communication and co-ordination, which was lacking somewhere," he added.

On November 27, BCCI in a statement said it will have further clarity on participation of Rohit, who is currently training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru (NCA), in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy based on his next assessment which will be conducted on December 11.

However, Laxman feels that the 32-year-old should have been selected in the Indian squads for the tour Down Under.

"I feel that in the first place he (Rohit Sharma) should have been selected and the communication gap is something which is disappointing," Laxman said.

"I am really surprised because in this age of communication where there are so many WhatsApp groups, there's usually a group mail which goes around, I'm sure a group between the team management, the chairman of the selection committee and the in-charge of the medical team of the BCCI (exists)."

Having said that, Laxman isn't quite sure why two senior players couldn't sort out the matter on their own.

"Usually, everything is updated to the team management and everyone is kept in the loop. So, I am not sure why is there a communication breakdown as far as this case is concerned and we are talking about two senior players," Laxman said.