Rohit Sharma Set To Miss First Test Of The Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Vice-Captain Jasprit Bumrah takes charge as Rohit remains with family after the birth of his second child

Sharma bats during day three of the First Test match between India and New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 18, 2024 in Bengaluru, India. He will join the India squad ahead of the second Test / Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images.

By Ian Omoro

Rohit Sharma will not be available to captain India in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, which begins on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Rohit, who stayed at home to witness the birth of his second child, will join the India squad ahead of the second Test, a day-night encounter in Adelaide on December 6.

In light of the child's birthdate, Rohit had left open the possibility of last-minute travel even though he had informed the BCCI and national selectors beforehand that he might miss the Perth Test. It is possible that Rohit would fly to Perth after he and his wife, Ritika, welcomed their second child on Friday, one week before the first Test. Nonetheless, he informed the BCCI that he would be available to participate in the two-day, pink-ball warm-up match against the Australian Prime Minister's XI starting on November 30 in advance of the Adelaide day-night Test. 

In Rohit's absence, vice captain Jasprit Bumrah will captain India in Perth. When Rohit tested positive for Covid-19, Bumrah led India in the fifth Test of their two-part 2021–22 tour of England at Edgbaston.

With No. 3 Shubman Gill expected to miss the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb, India will now start the Test series without two of their first-choice top three players. In Rohit's absence, the two front-runners to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal were KL Rahul and the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran; nevertheless, there is now a chance that both will be included in the starting lineup.

On the first day of the Indians' intra-squad practice match at the WACA, Rahul had temporarily fallen victim to an injury of his own after being hit in the elbow while batting against Prasidh Krishna. On Sunday morning, however, Rahul returned to the crease and batted for approximately an hour, allaying any anxieties. In addition to Abhimanyu and Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, who played in India A's shadow tour of Australia and has remained with the Test team, will be another top-order contender for India. Padikkal has participated in one Test match for India, which was against England earlier this year at Dharamsala.

The Indian brain tank headed by head coach Gautam Gambhir has faced numerous challenges with four days left before the first Test. Following an astounding 3-0 loss to New Zealand—India's first-ever whitewash in a home series of three or more Tests—this is the country's first foreign Test series under Gambhir and his coaching staff, which includes Morne Morkel, Abhishek Nayar, and Ryan ten Doeschate.

India may try to increase their batting depth by starting one of their two seam-bowling all-rounders at No. 8 when Rohit and Gill are not available. Harshit Rana, a hit-the-deck bowling all-rounder for Delhi, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, a batting all-rounder from Andhra, have not yet made their Test debuts.