Rohit Sharma tests negative for Covid-19, begins training

India captain Rohit Sharma is out of isolation after having tested negative for Covid-19 and will now be available for the white-ball series against England, beginning with the first T20I in Southampton on July 7.

Rohit Sharma missed out on the ongoing rescheduled fifth Test against England after he had tested positive during the four-day warm-up game against Leicestershire.

"Yes, Rohit has tested negative and as per medical protocols is now out of quarantine. However, he is not playing today's T20 warm-up game against Northamptonshire as he will need some recovery time and training ahead of the first T20I," a senior BCCI official told PTI.

As per medical protocol, any player who is out of quarantine needs to undergo mandatory cardiovascular tests to check their lung capacity post-COVID-19.

Rohit tested positive three times before the first morning of the Test, which started on July 1, and hence India had a new captain in Jasprit Bumrah.

While Rohit will play from the first game of the white-ball series, the likes of Virat Kohli, Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja will be available from the second game onwards. The first T20I starts on July 7, two days after the scheduled end of the Test on July 5.

India are currently playing the fifth Test match against England in Birmingham. Batting first, India posted a mammoth score of 416 runs in the first innings. Pant and Jadeja notched respective centuries. In reply, England had lost 9 wickets for 274 runs in the second innings. England are currently trailing by 142 runs.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have managed to pick 3 wickets each, while Shami picked 2 wickets.