India leave out injured duo Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma from Australia tour squads

BCCI say they 'will continue to monitor the progress' of both players

Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians plays a shot during match 20 of season 13 of the Dream 11 Indian Premier League (IPL) between the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi  in the United Arab Emirates on the 6th October 2020.  Photo by: Pankaj Nangia  / Sportzpics for BCCI
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India left out the injured duo of opener Rohit Sharma and quick bowler Ishant Sharma from the Test and limited-overs squads for their upcoming tour of Australia.

Ishant has been ruled out of remainder of the ongoing Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates after suffering an abdominal muscle tear earlier in the tournament.

Rohit, who captains defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Twenty20 competition, has missed the last two IPL matches with a hamstring injury.

Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah said they "will continue to monitor the progress" of both players.

Limited-overs stalwart Rohit has reinvented himself as a test opener and his injury creates uncertainty around who would partner Mayank Agarwal at the top of the batting order in the four-test series.

India have named Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill in the Test squad and one of them could land the role should Rohit fail to recover.

Uncapped quick Mohammed Siraj was also named in the 18-man Test squad, which contains two wicketkeepers in Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant.

Pant was omitted from limited-overs squads where Rahul was preferred.

Four additional bowlers – Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel and T. Natarajan – will accompany the team on the tour.

India are scheduled to play four Test matches in December-January, preceded by three one-day internationals and as many Twenty20 matches, though the exact itinerary is yet to be finalised.

The Virat Kohli-led team, who recorded India's first ever test series victory in Australia last year, are scheduled to quarantine in Sydney next month.

Ishant Sharma of Delhi Capitals  bowls during match 11 of season 13 of Indian Premier League (IPL) between the Delhi Capitals and the Sunrisers Hyderabadheld at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi  in the United Arab Emirates on the 29th September 2020.  Photo by: Pankaj Nangia  / / Sportzpics for BCCI
Delhi Capitals' Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the rest of this season's IPL due to a torn side muscle. Sportzpics for BCCI