India captain Rohit Sharma is the only member of the contingent that was chosen for the upcoming BGT 2024 (Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024) Test series, that is yet to fly to Australia. The rest of the squad has already reached Perth and began practicing for the first Test that begins on November 22.
It was reported by PTI some time back, that Rohit Sharma is expected to miss one of the first two Tests of the five-match series in Australia due to personal reasons. Later, other reports stated that the reason was that Rohit and his wife Ritika were expecting their second child.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was seen practicing at the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) on November 13, 2024.
“It is reliably learned that Rohit wants to utilize his time in India so that he is ready for the challenge Down Under. The Indian captain has been using both Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) facilities and RCP for his sessions,” a report in Times of India stated.
As far as his travel to Australia is concerned, he will only take that call after the birth of his second child.
"There is no clarity yet on his departure. It all depends on how things unfold on 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,” the report stated further.
Indian team contingent left for Australia in two batches on November 10 and 11. Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Washington Sundar traveled with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on November 10 while the remaining, and head coach Gautam Gambhir, left on November 11.
Virat Kohli was the first to reach Australia, on Sunday evening, along with his family. Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah didn't travel with the second batch and left on Monday night.
The management of the Indian team has already made plans for the first Test, and coach Gambhir has announced Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul as the two candidates for the starting position. He has also stated that Bumrah will lead in Rohit's absence.
The highly anticipated series begins on November 22 in Perth and ends on January 3 with the Sydney Test. The visitors will play a two-day match in Canberra before the second Test, which will take place in Adelaide and be a day-night match.
(Times of India report)
