'Pressing Personal Matter': India Captain Rohit Sharma Likely to Miss One Test During Australia Tour

In a major development, India could be without their captain Rohit Sharma for at least one Test of their upcoming five-match series in Australia. Rohit reportedly has informed the BCCI that he might skip one of the first two Tests of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to personal reasons. The Australia tour begins from November 22 with the first Test slated to be held in Perth while the second Test starts from December 6 in Adelaide.

“There isn’t any complete clarity about the situation. It is understood that Rohit has intimated to the BCCI that there is a possibility that due to a pressing personal matter, he might have to skip one of the two Tests at the beginning of the series,” a BCCI source told news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity.

“In case, the personal issue is sorted before the start of the series, he might play all five Tests. We will get to know more in coming days,” the source added.

Should Rohit end up missing a Test, India could add Abhimanyu Easwaran as his cover.  Easwaran will be in Australia with the India A team which he is slated to captain as well.

However, there is no word who the vice-captain of the Test team will be as there was no official deputy for Rohit during the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home.

“I think we need to understand that we have got a lot of IPL captains in this team. When you talk about the likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, hopefully a Yashasvi (Jaiswal) going forward, There are a lot of players who have led their franchises,” India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar had told the media on the eve of the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.

There are three candidates for the role — Rohit’s white ball deputy Gill, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has led India in a Test in England, and keeper-batter Rishabh Pant.

“I wouldn’t look at them as youngsters anymore. Yes, they are youngsters in terms of age and the amount of cricket they have played. But, I think overall, mentally and in their development as a cricketer, I think they have the leadership qualities that are required. You don’t need to have a vice-captain that should be designated,” Nayar had stated when asked about the red-ball vice-captaincy.

“I think overall, the thought process of these youngsters is of a senior player. It’s of someone who has played a lot of cricket.”

With PTI Inputs