As per reports, Rohit informed the national selection panel, team management, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday that he would not be able to join the team in Perth. After his second child was born, the Indian captain stayed in Mumbai. There have been talks that Rohit would be in Perth in time for the first Test match against Australia ever since his wife Ritika gave birth to a boy on Friday.
But by choosing to spend more time with his family on Sunday, Rohit calmed any doubts. So as to be ready for the second Test match, Sportstar reports that Rohit will join the team in Adelaide in the two-day practice match played under lights at the end of the month.
Bumrah, who captained once in England in 2022, will don the captain’s jacket when he walks out for the toss on Friday due to Rohit being gone. The national selection committee has reappointed Bumrah as vice captain for the home series against New Zealand in preparation of Rohit’s likely absence for the Perth Test.
For the first time in his career, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is playing in Australia, will have a new opening partner as a result of Rohit’s absence. He and Rohit have opened India’s innings in 14 straight Test matches since his debut in the West Indies in July 2023.
Jaiswal’s opening partner may be KL Rahul, who showed his fitness by batting for an hour on Sunday at the WACA Stadium on the final day of India’s cricket simulation. It will be interesting to watch how Shubman Gill, and she is injured, gets replaced at number three by Dhruv Jurel, a specialist batsman. Gill and Rohit missing from the Perth Test is yet to be officially confirmed by the BCCI.