, the captain of India, is reportedly set to miss the first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test series against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth next week.
After Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh welcomed a baby boy, their second child on Friday night, November 15, the 37-year-old communicated his decision to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials earlier today about staying back with his family for a few more days before potentially making himself available for the second Test.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will be taking over the captaincy role from him during the first Test against Australia, which will begin on November 22. Jasprit Bumrah has already captained India in a Test match two years ago when captain Rohit Sharma missed out on playing against England in July 2022 at the Edgbaston in Birmingham after suffering from COVID-19 on the tour.
Rohit Sharma will not be featuring in the first Test: Official source says
An official close to the latest development around Rohit Sharma’s status for the first Test match between India and Australia next week, was quoted as saying, as per the Times of India, ‘Yes, Rohit Sharma will not be featuring in the first Test. He wants to spend some more time with his family and the new-born and the Indian cricket board completely respects his decision.’ With that, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s new opening partner for the first Test in Perth could be either Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul, or a potential surprise pick from the Indian selectors.
Notably, Rohit Sharma didn’t travel to Perth with the Indian squad despite being named as the captain of India, instead he stayed back in Mumbai to be present for the birth of his second child. He was making regular appearances in the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) facilities for practising his batting in the nets apart from sweating it out in the gym.
