India head coach Gautam Gambhir has left Australia in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to personal reasons. The team will miss his services in the two-day tour game against Prime Minister's XI, starting on November 30 in Canberra.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, a BCCI spokesperson confirmed that Gambhir will be back with the team before the second Test, which will be a day-night affair in Adelaide starting on December 6. While the tour game in Canberra will be played with the pink Kookaburra ball, it will be a day match.
In Gambhir's absence, assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate in addition to bowling coach Morne Morkel will collectively be in charge.
The Indian team is expected to have a selection headache for the second Test match as regular skipper Rohit Sharma and No. 3 batter Shubman Gill are set return to the playing XI.
On Day 4 of the first Test against Australia in Perth, Rohit was seen sitting alongside Gambhir in the Indian dressing room. He was also spotted practicing with the pink ball in the nets on Monday (November 25).
Gill, who missed the Perth Test with a fractured thumb, might miss the tour game but he is likely to regain complete fitness before the game in Adelaide.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah led a spirited group of Indian cricketers to a thumping 295-run victory over Australia in the Perth Test. This remarkable turnaround is sure to be remembered as one of the golden moments in Indian cricket history as it came right after the 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home.
As stand-in skipper, Bumrah set the tone with an exceptional match haul of 8/72, helping India bundle out the hosts for 104 and 238 across the two innings.
On the other hand, the Indian batting line-up responded brilliantly after getting bowled out for 150 in the first innings. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (161), KL Rahul (77) and Virat Kohli (100*) batted exceptionally well in the second dig, propelling the visitors to 487/6 (declared).
With this victory, India have taken a 1-0 lead over Australia in the five-match Test series.
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)
