India captain Rohit Sharma is set to miss the opening Test match in Perth, sources have confirmed to India Today. The first Test match vs Australia will begin on 22 November, at the Optus Stadium. India Today has learnt that Rohit, who is on paternity leave at the moment, will not be able to participate in the opening Test.
There is no clarity at the moment on when Rohit will join the Indian team. At the moment, the best case scenario is that Rohit will join the team midway through the first Test match. In case he does not make it to the Perth Test, Rohit might directly join the Indian team in Adelaide, where the Pink Ball Test match is going to be played.
“Rohit Sharma is set to miss the first Test. He will either join the team in Adelaide or join them in Perth in the middle of the Perth Test,” sources confirmed to India Today.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team in Rohit’s absence.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir had confirmed earlier that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead the national men’s cricket team if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the first Test.
“Bumrah is vice-captain; if Rohit is not available, he is going to lead in Perth,” Gambhir stated during a pre-departure press conference in Mumbai.
The Indian team is currently training at WACA in Perth. They have done match simulations after opting to skip the intra-squad match ahead of the opening Test match.
India have a selection headache with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill unavailable for the opening Test match at Perth, which starts on 22 November. While Sharma is currently on paternity leave, Shubman has a fractured thumb.
The team will hope that the youngsters step up to the occasion like they did last time on the tour of Australia. India might call upon the likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Nitish Kumar Reddy, and hand them debuts in Perth.
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