As the list of injured Indian players on the Australia tour gets longer, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag took to Twitter and jokingly said that he’s ready to break retirement if the visitors are struggling to get 11 players for the fourth and deciding Test against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. As many as six players namely Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Hanuma Vihari, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have been ruled out in the Test series due to injuries. Moreover, Rishabh Pant, Mayank Agarwal and Ravichandran Ashwin’s participation in the deciding clash is also under the scanner. India Likely Playing XI for 4th Test: T Natarajan Set to Make Debut.

Hence, fielding a potent playing XI will be a great challenge for stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane. While the Indian team management would be analysing different permutations and combinations, Sehwag – being at his hilarious best – offered to break retirement for the ultimate clash. “Itne sab players injured hain , 11 na ho rahe hon toh Australia jaane ko taiyaar hoon, quarantine dekh lenge” tweeted the former Indian opener which roughly translates to: “These many players are injured. If India are struggling to get 11 players, I am ready to go to Australia, will see quarantine.” Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer & Other Netizens Hail Hanuma Vihari & Ravi Ashwin.

Here's Sehwag's Post!!

With 8586 runs in 104 Test matches, Sehwag is still one of the best openers ever, and the visitors would have been delighted to get him. However, that’s not possible as the 42-year-old announced his retirement way back in 2015.

Meanwhile, the series is perfectly poised at 1-1 after the first three games. India indeed have many positives to take out from the historic draw in the third Test but competing with a depleted line-up would be a jolting task. Aussies, on the other hand, would be gutted with the result at SCG and would be determined to win the fourth game which gets underway on January 15.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 12, 2021 07:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).