Rohit Sharma not travelling to Australia with team, 1st Test participation in doubt

India captain Rohit Sharma is not travelling with the team to Australia, top sources have told India Today. Rohit will miss India's flight to Australia, which will fly out on November 11 and 12, in two batches.

India Today has learnt that Rohit Sharma will stay back in India for the birth of his second child. Rohit's wife, Ritika, is expected to give birth in the third week of November.

advertisement

"Rohit Sharma won't travel with the team to Australia. There were suggestions he might travel but now he isn't. His wife's delivery is expected next week," a source told India Today on Sunday, 10 November.

Given that Rohit is not travelling with the side, it puts his participation in doubt for the opening Test match of the series. India are set to take on Australia in Perth on 22 November, which is expected to set the tone for the rest of the series.

India are under the pump and cannot afford to lose a single match if they are to directly qualify for the final of the World Test Championship.

Things have been busy for the India captain after losing a home Test series against New Zealand. News agency PTI news agency reported that Rohit was a part of a 6-hour review meeting, hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to discuss the shock result - India's first-ever whitewash at home.

"It was a six-hour marathon meeting, which was obviously on cards after such a debacle. India are going on a tour of Australia, and the BCCI would obviously like to ensure that the team is back on track and would like to know how the think-tank (Gambhir-Rohit-Agarkar) are going about it," a senior BCCI source told the agency.

RITIKA THANKS FINCH

Earlier, Rohit Sharma's wife Ritika Sajdeh thanked Aaron Finch for having the player's back. Sajdeh tagged Finch on an Instagram post which reported how Finch disagreed with Sunil Gavaskar over the paternity leave issue during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Former Australia cricketer Aaron Finch came in support of India skipper Rohit Sharma as he’s likely to miss the first Test of the upcoming series vs Australia.

Finch disagreed with Gavaskar, who had commented on the matter. Gavaskar had said that vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah should be handed the captaincy for the entire series in case Rohit was to miss more than one game. Gavaskar’s comments haven’t gone down well with Finch who said that Rohit should be with his wife as it’s a special moment for his family. While the India skipper hasn’t confirmed the reason behind his absence, it’s been widely reported that he’s expecting his second child wife Ritika Sajdeh.

"I disagree with Sunny on that totally. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Indian cricket team. If you need to stay at home because your wife's going to have a baby that's such a beautiful moment and you take all the time that you need in that regard," Finch said on Around the Wicket show in ESPNcricinfo.

Published By: Kingshuk Kusari Published On: Nov 10, 2024

Tune In

Click here to read article