FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Fifth Test - India v England - Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala, India - March 8, 2024 India's Rohit Sharma celebrates after reaching his century REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
(Reuters) - Indian pace bowler Akash Deep played down concerns over skipper Rohit Sharma's knee injury in the build-up to their fourth test against Australia this week after the batsman was hit during a practice session on Sunday.
Rohit, who missed the opening test to spend time with his newborn son and has been struggling for form since returning to the team, looked in discomfort after being struck on his left knee in the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The 37-year-old continued batting but later received care from a physiotherapist and had an ice pack strapped to his leg, which he rested on a chair.
"Such injuries are quite common when you play cricket and it doesn't make much of a difference," Akash told reporters, adding that the practice wicket had been challenging.
"I think this was a wicket for white-ball cricket, so the ball kept a bit low and it was a bit difficult to bat on. But such blows happen and it's not a concern."
India battled hard to earn a draw in the rain-interrupted third test in Brisbane to leave the five-match series locked at 1-1 ahead of the Boxing Day clash.
The tourists won the first test in Perth by 295 runs before crashing to a 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide.
"It's 50-50 right now. In the last match, even though we were behind, we built some confidence. This test match will be very important for both teams," Akash said.
"Our mindset as fast bowlers is that we can get some quick wickets with the new ball and cause problems for them. We have seen in the three matches that we can create chances with the new ball.
"After 30 overs, however, you have to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
