The Rohit Sharma fitness saga continues to throw up more questions than answers.

Days after being ignored by the national selectors for the tour of Australia following a “left hamstring strain”, the Mumbai Indians captain took the field on Tuesday against Sunrisers Hyderabad after passing fitness tests conducted by franchise physio Sizwe Hadebe.

The Telegraph understands that while the Sunil Joshi-led selection committee wasn’t informed about the developments, the fitness tests were conducted on Monday and Tuesday in the presence of Team India physio Nitin Patel.

Sources revealed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India had been kept in the loop about Rohit’s condition and the franchise’s plans.

Mumbai Indians were keen on fielding Rohit ahead of the playoffs since they wanted to test his condition in a match before the knockout stages.

Asked at the toss if everything was fit and fine with him, Rohit replied with a grin: “Yeah, looks like that.” After the match, he even confirmed that the hamstring was “absolutely fine”.

The development has come as an embarrassment for the Board since Rohit took the field only a few hours after PTI quoted president Sourav Ganguly as saying, “Rohit himself knows that he has got a long career ahead and it’s not just this IPL or (the) next series for him.”

The Board has maintained silence on the nature of his injury but the former India captain said Rohit had a “hamstring tear” and didn’t know when the opener would be back in action.

Days earlier, India head coach Ravi Shastri had voiced similar sentiments, saying, “he could be in danger of injuring himself again”, and advised Rohit not to rush his comeback.

Mumbai Indians have sent out messages on social media every time there’s been any related communication from the Board. There has been talk that their social media group posted videos of Rohit with his consent.

The franchise tweeted pictures of Rohit’s net session in Abu Dhabi a couple of hours after the squad was announced and followed it up with a video of him “in full flow”.

A day after Shastri aired his views, out came another video of Rohit batting at nets, further adding to the intrigue. Then on Tuesday, when the Board president said he was injured, Rohit opened the innings before being dismissed for 4.

It would be naive to imagine that the franchise fielded him without the Board’s nod since he is a centrally contracted player.

By turning out on Tuesday, is Rohit risking his career if he has a hamstring tear?

Questions have also been raised in certain quarters if people with vested interest are trying to keep him out of the side. Has there been pressure on the Board to not interfere into the franchise’s dealings? Is there more to it than meets the eye?

The Board will now be under pressure to include him for the tour Down Under since it’s a given that he will play MI’s remaining matches. In that case, will the limited overs vice-captaincy be handed back to Rohit? Or will his return affect his chances of being selected for the Australia tour?