India bowling coach Morne Morkel has eased concerns surrounding Rohit Sharma’s fitness ahead of the first ODI against Afghanistan in Dharamsala on June 13. The veteran opener had suffered a hamstring injury during IPL 2026, which ruled him out of five matches.
With questions raised over his fitness before the Afghanistan series, Morkel confirmed ahead of the opener that Rohit is fully fit and available for selection. Speaking during the pre-match press conference, Morkel addressed Rohit Sharma’s availability for the first ODI.
“He’s passed all his fitness tests. He’s cleared and ready to go. Obviously, the balls are coming at high speeds, and you want to protect yourself, even if there’s a slight niggle. But I can assure you there’s nothing wrong. Rohit is moving well and training well. So excited to see him go.”
He further added:
“Always nice to have his experience back as well. Just the calmness that he brings to the dressing room is always a positive to have. He’s training well, he’s moving well. So I know that he’s also excited to go.”
Rohit last represented India during the home ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year in January.
Morne Morkel Hints at Flexible No.3 Options After Virat Kohli’s Exit from ODI Setup
Morne Morkel also spoke about India’s No.3 position for the Afghanistan ODI series in the absence of injured Virat Kohli. He revealed that the team is likely to rotate KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the role.
“In terms of that number three slot, that’s something that in this series we’ll play around with. Even if it’s Ishan or KL or Yashasvi, it’s a nice opportunity now. We’ve got a couple of one-day games coming up, and we’ll give guys opportunity in different slots. Just to give ourselves a better idea in terms of how we can go and structure the team and have different options,” said Morkel (via the aforementioned source).
Kohli suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL 2026 final, where he played a key role in helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru secure back-to-back titles.
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