Rohit Sharma is not travelling with the rest of the Indian squad to Australia. His participation in the Perth Test hangs in the balance.
India captain Rohit Sharma is all set to miss the first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. For weeks now, it is being rumoured that Rohit will miss the Perth Test against Australia as he and his wife Ritika Sajdeh are expecting the birth of their second child. After the third and final Test against New Zealand, even Rohit Sharma had admitted that he is not sure about his availability for the opening Test of the five-match series Down Under. Now, a report in India Today claims that Rohit is not flying with the rest of the Indian squad, and will stay back in the country.
India’s Rohit Sharma in action REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
The Indian team will depart for Australia in two batches. The first batch left on Sunday night, while the other will leave on Monday. As per India Today, Rohit Sharma has decided to stay back in India for the birth of his second child.
The same report states that Ritika Sajdeh is expected to give birth in the third week of November. “Rohit Sharma won’t travel with the team to Australia. There were suggestions he might travel but now he isn’t. His wife’s delivery is expected next week,” India Today quoted a source as saying.
In Rohit Sharma’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah is expected to lead Team India as he has been named as the vice-captain for the tour of Australia. Earlier, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had said that vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah should be handed the captaincy for the entire series against Australia if Rohit misses the first Test.
However, former Australia captain Aaron Finch had disagreed with what Sunil Gavaskar had to say. “I disagree with Sunny on that totally. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Indian cricket team. If you need to stay at home because your wife’s going to have a baby that’s such a beautiful moment and you take all the time that you need in that regard,” Finch said on Around the Wicket show in ESPNcricinfo
India face must-win situation in Australia
Having lost 3-0 at home against New Zealand, India are now under the pump, when it comes to qualification for the World Test Championship final. Rohit Sharma and co need to win series Down Under by a 4-0 or 5-0 margin to qualify for the WTC final without depending on other results.
Earlier, news agency PTI had reported that Rohit Sharma, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, were involved in a 6-hour review meeting with senior Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials.
“It was a six-hour marathon meeting, which was obviously on cards after such a debacle. India are going on a tour of Australia, and the BCCI would obviously like to ensure that the team is back on track and would like to know how the think-tank (Gambhir-Rohit-Agarkar) are going about it,” a senior BCCI source told the news agency.