The captain of the Indian Test side, Rohit Sharma, has been boosted with warm news of him and his wife, Ritika Sajdesh, being blessed with a baby boy, as they celebrate the news before the opening batter takes the flight before the upcoming opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which begins on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The presence of Rohit Sharma will be a huge relief for the selectors and the team management as it will help in settling the nerves of the batting department along with the leadership stability of the side throughout the entire five red-ball clashes. The biggest question before the opening game was who would partner Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top.
India has been struggling badly to find an in-form batter of late, as all of the contenders struggled during the A-games of the Blue Brigade. Neither Abhimanyu Easwaran nor KL Rahul could display quality performance with the bat or ball to increase any positivity.
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During the opening day of the three-day match simulation at the WACA ground in Perth, Jaiswal went through a very tough phase, while Easwaran flashed out at the off-stump to find the outside edge. The new worry for the team is the injury which saw Rahul leaving the field in the middle. He suffered a blow on his right elbow off a rising delivery early during the first day.
According to the local reports of the Australian newspapers, another veteran member of the side, along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, also underwent scans on November 14 (Thursday) but was later revealed his smooth process of bating without any discomfort.
Rohit Sharma is likely to join the Indian team in time for the Perth Test
The former Indian captain didn’t look in great shape during the recent home series against New Zealand when he collected only 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 thanks to just one solitary half-century, which he celebrated during the second innings of the opening game in Bengaluru.
The same poor touch could be seen in Rohit Sharma, who gathered 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16, shouldering on one fifty. His captaincy also came under the scanners throughout the entire series, especially during the second encounter at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, where he kept the fielders near the rope even against the new batters, which helped the batters to get set quite comfortably.
In the absence of the Indian captain, the management can look to use one of Easwaran or Rahul at the top. If needed, the designated number three batter of the side, Shubman Gill, can step up for the opening role, having notched up 259 runs at an average of 51.80 during the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, including an excellent 91-run knock in the second innings of the Brisbane Test.
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The main batters of the Indian team had a very tough time against the traveling bowlers like Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, and Nitish Kumar Reddy on the center-wicket. In the second hit of the day, Jaiswal cracked an undefeated 58 while Gill remained unbeaten on 42 runs.
Rohit Sharma could end up reaching Perth in time, but the question stands, how comfortable he would be in preparing himself for the Perth Test? In that case, he could look to stay with the team and feature in the day-night practice game before coming back for the second encounter in Adelaide.
