India captain Rohit Sharma is likely to miss the opening match against Australia. Rohit confirmed questions about his availability for the first Test match in Perth and said he was not too sure if he would play that game.

Speaking on Jio Cinema, former cricketer-turned-broadcaster Abhinav Mukund confirmed rumors that Rohit was expecting his second child with wife Ritika Sajdeh and might miss the Test match for the same reason.

The India captain was asked about the rumors in the post-match press conference after the Mumbai Test and said that he is keeping his fingers crossed that he can participate in the match.

“Right now, I’m not too sure if I’ll go, but let’s see. Fingers crossed,” Rohit Sharma said after the third Test match in Mumbai.

IND vs NZ, Third Test: Match report | Full scoreboard

Rohit Sharma’s absence will have huge implications for the Indian team as they need 4 wins and a draw to qualify for the World Test Championship final. Winning a Test series in Australia is a herculean task, let alone winning 4 out of 5 matches on the tour.

In Rohit’s absence, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is expected to lead the Indian Test team. India will play 5 test matches against Pat Cummins Australia. The team will travel to Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney after the first Test match in Perth.

India have picked an extended squad for the tour of Australia. India have picked a large group of 18 players and 3 travel reserves for the first five Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests of the 1991-92 season. With plenty of support for the pacers and a fast bowling all-rounder, the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, picked a complete squad.

WHO IS IN AND WHO IS OUT OF BGT 2024-25?

– Jasprit Bumrah continues as vice-captain
– Without Mohammed Shami (injury)
– No Axar Patel
– Without Kuldeep Yadav (injury)
– Without Mayank Yadav (injury)
– Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana (Virgin Test Calls)
– Abhimanyu Easwaran (in)
– No return for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane

India squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R. Ashwin, R. Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

Subs: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.

Sign in