India captain Rohit Sharma is likely to miss the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. A source close to the developments told Sports Tak that Rohit will join the squad ahead of the second Test of the series at Adelaide Oval. A final confirmation on Rohit's availability is awaited. Recently Australia's star batter Travis Head also backed Indian captain's decision to stay with his family and postpone joining the squad. He said that they sacrifice a lot as cricketers and would have done the same if he were in that situation
The 37-year-old may join the squad in the middle of the first Test. He will feature in the two-day warm-up match against Prime Ministers XI starting November 30 at Manuka Oval, Canberra. The pink-ball Test will commence on December 6. Rohit was not in his best form during the New Zealand series but would like to ensure that he contributes with his bat and lead the side from front.
In Rohit's absence, Jasprit Bumrah is set to lead India in the Perth Test. This will be the second time Bumrah will lead India in the red-ball format.
Earlier, Rohit stayed back in Mumbai for the birth of his second child. On November 15, Rohit and wife Ritika Sajdeh welcomed a baby boy. Rohit has asked for some more time to be with his family from the team management.
Opening conundrum continues
In Rohit's absence, it is not confirmed who will open the innings. Shubman Gill has a fractured thumb and unlikely to feature in the series opener. In his absence, KL Rahul may bat at no.3. Meanwhile, the back-up opener Abhimanyu Easwaran has not been in the best of forms.
If the team management does not hand Easwaran is debut cap, there is a possibility that Kohli may bat at no.3 and Rahul opens the innings. Kohli batted at no.3 in the Bengaluru Test when Gill had a stiff neck. This can help India accomodate both Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan in the middle order or play an all-rounder.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
