Rohit Sharma, India captain, has given an update about his playing in the first Test of the upcoming 5-Test tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024). The first Test is scheduled to begin on November 22 and will be played at the WACA ground in Perth.
As per PTI, there are doubts about Rohit Sharma missing either the first or the second Test on the tour of Australia owing to personal reasons.
After India’s crushing 25-run loss to New Zealand in the third and final Test in Mumbai, Rohit Sharma faced up to the press media in the post-match conference and answered some tough questions about India’s 0-3 Test whitewash at home, for the first time since 2000.
Rohit Sharma's participation in the first Test against Australia in Perth is currently in doubt. After losing the third and final Test against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma indicated that he is unsure of his "availability" for the Perth Test.
When Rohit Sharma was asked about his availability for the first Test against Australia in Perth, Rohit Sharma said, "Right now, I am not too sure whether I'll be going, but let's see. Fingers crossed."
If Rohit indeed misses the series opener against Australia, then Jasprit Bumrah is expected to lead the side.
Speaking on JioCinema, former cricketer Abhinav Mukund hinted that Rohit Sharma is expecting his second kid with wife Ritika Sajdeh. He also suggested that this could be the reason Rohit missed the opening Test against Australia.
Rohit Sharma has also stated that the practice match against India A has been canceled, and the three-day window at the WACA will now be used for center-pitch match simulation.
“Rather than practice match, we have planned a match simulation kind of thing with India A. When you play that practice match, we are traveling with a squad of 19 players, and it was just three days allotted to us. And I don't know how much workload we can do in those three days in terms of getting everyone prepared," said Rohit.
“We as a management think that in a match simulation, the batters can spend enough time in the middle and the bowlers can bowl a lot of balls. That is something we feel more comfortable doing as a team rather than playing practice matches,” he added.
Rohit Sharma also termed that the Test tour of Australia is extremely important to the Indian team. With them losing to New Zealand 0-3, India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final are dependent on their performance in the five-Test series down under.
Speaking about the upcoming five-match series against Australia, Rohit Sharma said, "Lot of our guys have been there before and lots of guys haven't been there before. That is why we are trying to go there early and get used to the conditions and Australia is not an easy place to play cricket. But we can take a lot of confidence from how we played in Australia in the last two series. We will think positively, I am not going to look beyond the Australia series. It is now an important series for us."
"It will be a good challenge for guys who have been there and also for the guys who are going there for the first time. Right now, it is about understanding what we didn't do right. Mistakes need to be addressed. When you land in Australia, it is important to break down those five Tests, and focus on one Test at a time," he added.
The team cannot afford another loss and must defeat Australia 4-0 or 5-0 to get to the final, regardless of previous outcomes.
(PTI inputs)
