There has been a lot of talk about Rohit Sharma and his availability for the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The current Indian captain might be unavailable for either one or two Tests in Australia.
Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund who is now a broadcaster at JioCinema confirmed that Rohit’s wife Ritika Sajdeh is expecting the birth of their second child. Thus, the 37-year-old is likely to miss the series opener in Perth while his availability for the second Test in Adelaide is uncertain as well.
After the end of the third Test, Rohit himself wasn’t fully sure either. “Right now, I am not too sure whether I’ll be going, but let’s see. Fingers crossed,” Rohit was quoted saying in the post-series press conference.
Jasprit Bumrah has been named as the vice-captain of the 18-member squad. He is set to captain when Rohit is unavailable. Bumrah has led in one Test before this which was in England in 2022.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has a difference take on this. He believes that if there is uncertainty around the captain, it puts pressure on the deputy. Hence, the selectors need to name a captain (Bumrah) for the tour and ask Rohit to feature as a player whenever available. The 75-year-old thinks that the captain wants more clarity, especially after India lost 0-3 to New Zealand.
“It is important for the captain to play the first Test match. It’s different if he is injured, but if he is not available, then the deputy leader will be under a lot of pressure. I have been reading that Rohit Sharma might not play the first two Tests of the Australia series. I feel that, in that case the selection committee should appoint Jasprit Bumrah the captain of the side for the entire Australia tour, and tell Rohit Sharma that you will participate as a player in this series. For the first Test match, Rohit Sharma has to be there,” Sunil Gavaskar was quoted saying to Sports Tak.
Virat Kohli missed three Tests on last Australia tour
Virat Kohli missed three Test matches on India’s last tour to Australia. He was the captain and played just the first Test. However, Gavaskar added that the Kohli situation was completely different as he was sure to miss the last three Tests.
“There was a clarity back then. We knew Kohli would have played just one Test match and vice-captain would take over the role thereafter, which made it easier for the rest of the players to become used to that fact,” Gavaskar added.
India are in big trouble of missing the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time since its inception. They need to win four out of the remaining five Tests to qualify for the final. Else, they will need a host of results to go their way.
