India vs Australia 2020-21: Ishant Sharma ruled out, T Natarajan as cover for Navdeep Saini

India are taking on Australia across formats, starting Friday, as the tour is set to comprise of three ODIs and T20Is each, along with four Tests. Meanwhile, multiple injuries have hit the visitors, as pacer Ishant Sharma has been the latest one to be ruled out.

The just-begun India's tour of Australia does not seem to be off to an excellent start for the visitors, owing to multiple injury-related issues. While senior opener Rohit Sharma is missing out on the majority of the tour, pacer Ishant Sharma has also been ruled out.

Rohit would be joining India for the final two Tests in January, as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain. Meanwhile, Ishant was suffering from an abdominal muscle tear, who too looked set to join the squad for the final two Tests, only to be ruled out late, on Thursday night.

"Ishant has recovered completely from his side strain injury sustained during IPL 2020 in the UAE While he's building up his workload in order to achieve Test match fitness, Mr Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy," said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a release.

The release also added new information and update on Rohit's status, as it read, "He [Rohit] is presently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA. Mr Rohit Sharma's next assessment will be conducted on December 11th, following which the BCCI will have clarity on his participation in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia."

"Mr Rohit Sharma had to come back to Mumbai after the IPL to attend to his ailing father. His father is now recuperating well and that has allowed him to travel to the NCA and start his rehabilitation," the release further read.

Meanwhile, the BCCI said that fellow pacer Navdeep Saini has suffered back spasm, putting him in doubt for ODIs, although he is playing the ongoing first ODI. Nonetheless, T Natarajan has been roped in as his cover in the format. This is Natarajan's maiden national call-up, as he was already with the Indian squad in Australia as a practice bowler.

Natarajan is coming off a decent run in the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), he finished as the side's second-highest wicket-taker, claiming 16 from 16 at an economy of 8.02. As for his domestic career, he has been nice across formats. In List-A, he has claimed 16 from 15 matches at an economy of 4.30.