Team India Skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the First Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which starts on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Rohit Sharma stayed back in India for the birth of his second child and will join the India Squad ahead of the Second Test in Adelaide a day-night match starting on December 4.

Rohit had communicated with BCCI and National Selectors in advance that he might miss the Perth Test. He had left the possibility of last-minute travel open, depending on the timing of the child's birth. Rohit and his wife welcomed their second child on Friday, a week before the first Test, raising the chance that he might travel to Perth. However, Rohit has communicated to BCCI that he will be available to play the two-day pink-ball warm-up game against the Australian Prime Minister's XI before the day-night Test in Adelaide.

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Vice Captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Bumrah has led India in one Test previously, the fifth Test of their two-part 2021-22 tour of England at Edgbaston, when Rohit had tested positive for Covid-19. India lost that Test match by 7 wickets and the 5-match Series was tied at 2-2 with the first test being drawn at Nottingham.

India will begin their Test series with two key members missing from their top order, with Shubman Gill also set to miss the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb. KL Rahul and the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran were the top contenders to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal in Rohit's absence, but now there’s a possibility that both might play.

There is still no clarity about Skipper Rohit Sharma's plans to travel to Australia. His wife recently delivered a baby so it is expected that he will leave soon and the exact date is still to be known. Thus it is most likely that he will also miss the series opener and Pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no immediate plans to send Mohammed Shami to Australia.

Mohammed Shami makes a solid comeback to competitive cricket

The Team India Pacer Mohammed Shami made his return to competitive cricket almost after a year, he played a Ranji trophy game between Madhya Pradesh and Bengal in Indore. Pacer scalped four wickets in the first innings and three wickets in the second innings. Eventually, Bengal won the game by 11 runs. Meanwhile, Team Management suggests that Shami should play more domestic games before being included in the team again. This indicates that Shami might play for Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, which starts in about a week.

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The India A Team led by Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to return to India in the next 24 hours. However, Devdutt Padikkal will not accompany them as Team India Management has decided to retain the batter for the senior team, which will compete in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia over the next 50 days.

This decision has to be taken due to injuries and the unavailability of two key players. Top Order batter Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the series opener as he fractured his thumb during a simulation match at WACA. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who stayed back in India for the birth of his second child is also unlikely to be available for the First Test. KL Rahul also had an injury concern after being hit on the elbow, however, some good news from the camp is that KL Rahul batted during the Three-Day match simulation at  WACA on Sunday (17 November).

Devdutt Padikkal showed some resilience against Australia A

Padikkal recorded scores of 36, 88, 26, and 1 in his four recent innings against the Australia A team. Although these performances might not normally earn him a place in the senior national team, the management thinks his experience and knowledge of Australian conditions make him a good choice as a backup batter. Padikkal has been featured in the only Test against England this year. He has featured in T20Is as well.

The Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma hasn't travelled with the team to Perth as there is no clarity on his participation in the First Test, but he is currently training hard in Mumbai.

37-year-old Skipper has been training and was seen at the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) today. He wants to use his time in India ahead of the Aussies Challenge. Skipper used the facilities of Mumbai Cricket Association and RCP for the net sessions. He will take the call of traveling to Australia only after the birth of his second child.

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According to a source, "There is no clarity yet on his departure yet. It all depends on how things unfold on to the personal front. He is doing what any father would at this stage, which is to stay with his wife and family. But at the same time, he is ensuring to be well-tuned for the Test Series and will be batting at every possible opportunity in Mumbai."

 

 

 

 

 

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Indian Players Left For Australia In Two Batches

Indian players left for Perth from Mumbai in two batches on 10 and 11 November. Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Washington Sundar travelled with Assistant Coach Abhishek Nayar on November 10. While the remaining players left with Head Coach Gautam Gambhir on November 11.

Star Batter Virat Kohli was the first player to reach Perth on Sunday evening. He was spotted at the Mumbai Airport with wife Anushka and two kids late on Saturday. Vice-Captain Jasprit Bumrah didn't travel with the second batch and left on Monday night.

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Who will lead Team India in the First test in Rohit's absence?

The Indian Team management has decided that Pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma in the first Test. Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran are the two choices to replace Rohit at the opening slot.

The 5-match Test Series will kick off in Perth on 22 November. The 2nd Test in Adelaide will be a Day-Nigh fixture and Team India will play a two-day game in Canberra before that fixture. The Final test in Sydney will start on 3 January.

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke said that the Indian team looked fatigued as they lost the recently concluded home Test series to New Zealand. However, India suffered a rare 0-3 whitewash in a home Test to New Zealand team for the first time ever. Clarke said "mental fatigue", talking about the shot selection of the Indian batters as they had been playing non-stop cricket. New Zealand also became the first team in 12 years to breach India's fortress and win a Test series on their home soil as well.

"Take nothing away from New Zealand but It tells me India are so fatigued. Some of their shot selection, the use of bowlers and even Rohit to come out and say he wasn't at his best - just Think it was mental fatigue. They've played so much cricket without a break, but it'll be a little kick up the backside for them," Clarke said in Around the Wicket Podcast.

Michael Clarke hopes to see Rohit and Virat get back in form 

However, Clarke didn't deny Team India's chances in the upcoming Test series against Australia. He also predicted that "freshened up" Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be at their best of form in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

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"They know they've played well out here in Australia and they'll still come here with plenty of talent and that self-belief, but hopefully fresh. That's the key for the Indian players. Virat Kohli - you can't be that good for such a long period of time and just turn the tap off. So once he freshens up, and Rohit Sharma the same, you'll see the best of them," he added.

However, both Rohit and Kohli didn't have the best of home Test season. While Rohit managed just 133 runs in 10 innings, former India captain Virat Kohli has scored 192 runs in 10 innings as well. Between them, they scored only two fifties over five Tests at home during the 2024 season as well.

"I disagree with Sunil Gavaskar," says Aaron Finch on Rohit Sharma's captaincy in BGT

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar recently told India Today exclusively that Rohit Sharma should drop from his captaincy for the entire BGT series if he misses out on the first two Test matches due to personal reasons as well. However, Aaron Finch didn't agree with that and he also said that Rohit should be with his family and then resume the captaincy duties.

"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 babyâ€æ that's such a beautiful momentâ€æ and you take all the time that you need in that regard," he said.