Indian team captain Rohit Sharma may miss one of the first two Test matches of the upcoming five-match series against Australia next month. It is being reported that due to personal reasons, Rohit might not be available for one of the matches in this series, and he has already informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about it.
The Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will kick off on November 22 with the first match in Perth. According to reports, there is a possibility that Rohit might sit out either the first or the second Test match, scheduled to be held in Adelaide from December 6 to 10. The Indian team will aim to secure a hat-trick of Test series wins in Australia.
A BCCI source, quoted by news agency PTI, mentioned that the situation is not entirely clear at the moment. It is understood that Rohit has informed BCCI about the possibility of him missing one of the first two matches due to personal reasons. If the issue is resolved before the series starts, Rohit could play all five matches. More details on this are expected in the coming days.
Rohit recently played in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. India is now set to face New Zealand in a three-match Test series starting from October 16. If Rohit misses any of the Test matches in Australia, in-form Abhimanyu Easwaran could be considered as his replacement. However, experienced batsmen like Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are also available for the opening slot. Easwaran is likely to be in Australia at the time as he might represent India A.
There has been no discussion about who the vice-captain of the Test team will be. During the Bangladesh series, Rohit did not have an official deputy. Speaking ahead of the Kanpur Test, Abhishek Nayar said, “I think we need to understand that we have several IPL captains in the team. When you talk about this, you have to consider that players like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are part of the squad. There are many players who lead their franchise teams.”