India cricket team captain Rohit Sharma and his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, confirmed the birth of their second child in the form of a baby boy on Friday, November 15. Being parents to their daughter Sumaira who was born in 2018, the couple is yet to officially make this delightful news public to the fans. The couple had managed to keep Ritika’s pregnancy under secrecy for an extended period of time. 

The news only managed to break out when uncertainty surrounding Rohit's participation in the Perth Test began gaining traction. Rohit opted for a paternity break to celebrate the arrival of his baby boy on this auspicious moment. However, the name of the new baby boy is yet to be ascertained at this stage. As Rohit is expected to be away with his family on this momentous occasion, there are doubts about whether or not the Indian skipper will be ready in time to lead his side ahead of the first Test.

Rohit puts in the hard yards at the nets

Despite missing the training sessions in Australia due to the birth of his newborn child, Rohit remains committed to his game. While his entire brigade is away playing intra-squad matches in Australia, the 38-year-old was seen practicing tirelessly in the nets in Mumbai and looks more than determined to keep himself match-ready in case he gets a chance to make himself available for the all-important BGT Test series.

However, the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir in a recent press conference confessed that he is doubtful regarding Rohit's participation in the Perth Test but remains optimistic about his availability for the remainder of the Test series. But it has also come to light that Rohit may just be available on time for the first Test if things go according to play back home and BCCI is leaving no stone unturned to make the Indian skipper's availability a seamless affair. 

Rohit's poor Test run in recent times 

Being a genuine match-winner and a hero to the nation, the Indian skipper has come under immense fire following the conclusion of the Test series against the Black Caps at home which resulted in a shocking 0-3 whitewash. Not only did his poor captaincy skills come under the scanner, Rohit's inability to dominate spin and pace also came to the fore which has since raised alarm bells on his woeful form ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. 

In that series, Rohit averaged barely 16 and only managed to surpass fifty once in six innings. Moreover, the former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar also came hard on him in the aftermath of the New Zealand Test series advising him to give up the entire captaincy in case if he wished to remain unavailable for the series opener. If that were to happen, India's vice-captain, Jasprit Bumrah would take over the captaincy role in Rohit's absence.

Despite his poor run, Rohit's experience is surely invaluable in such hostile conditions and to not have him for the first Test could pose significant challenges to India who fighting hard to stay alive in the WTC final race.  But the joy of welcoming a new life takes precedence over national duties fans will be curious to see how the living Indian legend goes about balancing his family responsibilities with his cricketing commitments during this make-or-break Test series.

See also: Ritika Sajdeh salutes Aaron Finch's support for Rohit Sharma amidst criticism