captain of india Rohit Sharma will miss the opening Test of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. Hopes of seeing Rohit lead India in the series opener against Australia increased considerably after indian captain and his wife Ritika Sajdehthey welcomed their second child, a baby boy, on Friday, but it quickly evaporated by Saturday night when the 37-year-old decided to skip the Perth Test and spend some time with his family. Rohit is expected to reach Australian shores in time for the second Test in Adelaide, which will be a day-night contest.

“Rohit will not travel to Australia for the first Test. He should arrive in Australia soon and then have enough time to prepare for the second Test in Adelaide,” a source in the know confirmed to Hindustan Times.

Now that Rohit has been confirmed to miss the opening Test, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will step up to lead the Indian team in Perth.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma did not travel to Perth with the Indian contingent and stayed back in Mumbai for the birth of his second child.

Recently, the Indian captain was also seen using the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) facilities for training purposes.

Earlier, after the series defeat against New Zealand, Rohit himself had accepted that he did not know whether he would be available or not for the first Test against Australia.

“Right now, I’m not too sure if I will go, but let’s see. Fingers crossed,” Rohit said while talking to reporters during the post-match press conference.

Who will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal?

Now that Rohit Sharma is confirmed to miss the opening Test, the question remains: who will open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal? Will it be KL Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran?

Recently, KL Rahul suffered a blow to his hand during the opening day of the ongoing match simulation against India A at the WACA, Perth. However, the injury is not serious and Rahul is expected to be fit in time for November 22.

India also suffered another major blow as right-handed batsman Shubman Gill suffered a fractured left finger. The incident happened when the 25-year-old was on the field and it is now all but confirmed that he will not start in the playing XI for the Perth Test.

Talking about the series between India and Australia, the two teams will battle it out for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at five venues — Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.