Rohit Sharma clears fitness test at NCA, to leave for Australia on Dec 14
New Delhi, Dec 11: Senior India batsman Rohit Sharma on Friday cleared an eagerly-watched fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and will leave for Australia on December 14, three days before the start of the marquee Test series against the world's number one team.
Rohit had sustained a hamstring injury during the IPL, which led to him missing the white-ball leg of the ongoing tour. He is also out of reckoning for the first two Tests but can now be there for the last two games.
"Rohit has cleared the fitness Test and will soon be flying out to Australia," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Rohit's fitness test took place under the supervision of NCA director Rahul Dravid, who is entrusted with the responsibility of giving him his fitness certificate.
As per the Australian government's rules, the star batsman will have to undergo a mandatory 14 days of hard quarantine before being able to train for the last two Tests in Sydney (Jan 7 to 11) and Brisbane (Jan 15 to 19).
He is flying straight to Sydney and will get a week's training there.
There had been confusion around Rohit's status over the past few weeks. Captain Virat Kohli spoke about a lack of clarity on the issue that has been full of intrigue ever since he injured his left hamstring during a league match while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
The injury, which forced him out of four IPL games, prompted the national selectors to not consider him for the Australian tour.
Omitted from the squad for the much-anticipated tour, he soon returned to lead his franchise in the remainder of the lucrative league, adding to the curiosity.
On November 9, the BCCI provided an update on his status, saying the selectors had kept Rohit out of only the limited-overs leg for him to "regain full fitness" for the Test series.
But the white-ball vice-captain came to Mumbai instead of travelling straight to Australia with his national teammates after leading Indians to IPL title triumph in the UAE.
The BCCI then issued another press release on November 26, a day after Kohli claimed he did not know why Rohit had not done his rehab in Australia, stating that the reason behind the opener coming back to India was his father's illness.
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CNN host evacuates on live television in Abu Dhabi amid Israel-Iran fire exchange
A live broadcast by CNN from Abu Dhabi was briefly interrupted after emergency alarm systems were activated inside the network’s office here, as tensions escalated sharply in the Middle East after US and Israel struck Iran.
Senior anchor and CNN Abu Dhabi Managing Editor Becky Anderson was on air when the alarms sounded.
Anderson informed viewers that she and her team had been instructed to seek immediate shelter in line with local emergency protocols.
“I’m Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi with the alarms going off here suggesting we should seek immediate shelter. So we’ll do that. Our breaking news coverage continues after this short break. Stay with us,” she said before the broadcast cut.
CNN host in Abu Dhabi EVACUATES ON LIVE TELEVISION as Israel and Iran exchange fire across Middle East
— RT (@RT_com) February 28, 2026
'We'll be back after this short break' pic.twitter.com/YY5GDILBVQ
The network operates a major, state-of-the-art broadcasting and production centre in Abu Dhabi, alongside its hubs in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, similar emergency alerts disrupted a live broadcast on Al Jazeera in Doha. National emergency warnings were heard on air, advising residents to take shelter.
During the broadcast, a presenter said the alert system had been activated following reports of an Iranian missile targeting U.S. interests in Qatar.
“This is the alarm, by the way, that we all get on our phones here in Doha when there is an urgency. And so the national emergency alert system has gone off here in Qatar. The defense ministry in Qatar announcing just a short while ago that an Iranian missile has been intercepted here in Qatar, warning citizens basically to take shelter. Apologies, there's a bit of chaos in the newsroom, as you can imagine, because this is also happening here in Qatar, our emergency systems going off here,” the presenter said.
National emergency alerts blared during a live Al Jazeera broadcast just moments before explosions were heard in Qatar’s capital, Doha. The alert came as Iranian missiles targeting US interests the country were successfully intercepted. pic.twitter.com/eT6RD8fAZT
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 28, 2026
The development came after Iran on Saturday attacked the UAE's Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Qatar's Doha, and Saudi Arabia's Riyadh hours after Israel and the US conducted joint strikes on Iran.
