Cricket News: Jasprit Bumrah to Lead India in Rohit Sharma’s Absence for First Test
Bumrah to Captain India in Rohit’s Absence
Jasprit Bumrah will captain the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is scheduled to commence on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Rohit, who had stayed back home for the birth of his second child, will join the squad ahead of the second Test, a day-night affair starting on December 4 in Adelaide.
“Bumrah has previously captained India in one Test, the fifth match of their 2021-22 tour of England at Edgbaston, when Rohit had tested positive for COVID-19.”
Although Rohit had communicated to the BCCI and the national selectors earlier that he might miss the Perth Test, he had kept the option of last-minute travel open, depending on when the child was born. Rohit and his wife Ritika welcomed their second child on Friday, a week before the first Test. However, Rohit has now informed the BCCI that he will be available to play the two-day warm-up game against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI before the day-night Test in Adelaide.
The Indian team will also be without another member of their first-choice top three, as Shubman Gill is set to miss the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb. This means that KL Rahul and the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran are the two main candidates to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Rohit’s absence.
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