Rohit Sharma to Miss Perth Test

Rohit Sharma will not lead India in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, beginning on November 22 at Perth's Optus Stadium. Staying home for the birth of his second child, he is set to join the squad ahead of the second Test—a day-night match starting on December 6 in Adelaide.

Although Rohit had notified the BCCI and national selectors in advance about potentially missing the Perth Test, he had left open the possibility of a last-minute decision based on the timing of his child's birth. After he and his wife Ritika welcomed their second child on Friday, there was speculation he might travel to Perth. However, he informed the BCCI that he would be available for the two-day pink-ball warm-up game against the Australian Prime Minister's XI starting on November 30, prior to the Adelaide Test.

In Rohit's absence, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is expected to lead the team in Perth. Bumrah has captained India once before, during the fifth Test of their 2021-22 tour of England at Edgbaston, when Rohit tested positive for COVID-19.

India will commence the Test series without two key members of their top three, as No. 3 Shubman Gill is also likely to miss the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb. KL Rahul and the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran were initially the primary candidates to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, but now both may find themselves in the playing XI.

Rahul had briefly been a concern after he left the field with an elbow injury sustained while batting against Prasidh Krishna during an intra-squad practice match at the WACA. Those worries were eased on Sunday morning when he returned to bat for about an hour.

Besides Abhimanyu and Rahul, India has another top-order option in Devdutt Padikkal, who was part of India A's shadow tour of Australia and has remained with the Test squad. Padikkal played his debut Test for India against England in Dharamsala earlier this year.

With just four days until the first Test, India's coaching staff, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, faces multiple challenges. This series marks India's first overseas Test tour under Gambhir and his team, which includes Morne Morkel, Abhishek Nayar, and Ryan ten Doeschate. It follows an unprecedented 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand—the first time India has been whitewashed in a home Test series of three or more matches.

In the absence of Rohit and Gill, the team might look to strengthen their batting depth by including one of their seam-bowling all-rounders at No. 8. Both Nitish Kumar Reddy, a batting all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh, and Harshit Rana, a pace-bowling all-rounder from Delhi, are awaiting their Test debuts.

After concluding their training at the WACA this week, the Indian team will move to the Optus Stadium starting Tuesday.