India's cricket captain Rohit Sharma will not be travelling with the rest of the squad to Australia for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy, with the first Test against Australia beginning on November 22 in Perth raising major questions over his availability. Sharma is reportedly staying in India to help his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, who is pregnant with their second child. This has been coming for weeks, with Sharma himself unsure of his availability following the recent Test series against New Zealand.
The Indian team is departing in two batches, the first group having left on Sunday night, the second on Monday. Sharma has confirmed he will not travel to India and will miss at least the opening match of the five-match series, according to sources. Sharma is unlikely to make it in time for the first test, which is due to begin in the third week of November, as he is due to give birth in the third week of November.
Vice captain Jasprit Bumrah is ready to take the reins of the Indian side in Sharma's absence. If Sharma is unavailable for an extended period, then former captain Sunil Gavaskar suggested that Bumrah should take on full captaincy duties. But former Australian captain Aaron Finch argued family commitments should supersede such big life events.
After losing a disappointing home series to New Zealand, India now has a critical challenge ahead of it. They must win a series against Australia 4-0 or 5-0 to qualify for the World Test Championship final without relying on other results. Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar met the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently in a six-hour review meeting to strategise for the upcoming tour and address recent performance issues.
