Rohit Sharma officially OUT of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 opener

India National Cricket Team skipper Rohit Sharma is all set to miss the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 opening clash against Australia National Cricket Team.

Team India and Team Australia will be locking horns with each other in the first Test of the five-match series from November 22 in Perth and Rohit Sharma will be missing the crucial match.

Also Read: Sourav Ganguly strictly orders Rohit Sharma to join Team India for Perth Test after welcoming baby boy

Rohit Sharma to stay with his family in Mumbai

On Friday, November 15, Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh were blessed with their second child.

The Indian skipper has decided to stay with his family for some more time and informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he will be skipping the first Test.

As per a report in Times of India, the India National Cricket Team skipper is likely to be available for the second Test of the series.

"Yes, Rohit Sharma will not be featuring in the first Test. He wants to spend some more time with his family and the new-born and the Indian cricket board completely respects his decision," said an official close to developments.

Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in Rohit Sharma's absence

With Rohit out of the first Test against the Aussies, the designated vice-captain of the team - Jasprit Bumrah - will be taking over the leadership duties and leading the team.

However, the biggest challenge for Indian team management would be to finalise the replacement of Rohit Sharma as the opener.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir had earlier stated that they picked Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul in the squad as the backup openers. Reportedly, Rahul is front-runner to partner with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

However, both Rahul and Easwaran failed badly in the unofficial Test matches against Australia A. Rahul has previously opened for India and has done well, especially in overseas conditions. He was later slotted back in the middle-order and, after back-to-back failures, lost his place to Sarfaraz Khan.

Abhimanyu Easwaran, on the other hand, is yet to make his debut for India National Cricket Team but has featured in over 100 first-class games and scored 7674 runs. Before his failure against Australia A, he had slammed four tons in four consecutive matches in domestic cricket.

Shubman Gill gets injured as India suffer double blow

Other than Rohit Sharma, India will also be missing the services of the star No.3 batsman Shubman Gill. Gill has been one of the consistent performers of the team and has been highly impressive with the bat in 2024.

In 10 Test matches this year, he has batted in 19 innings. In those innings, Gill has slammed 806 runs at an average of 47.41 with three centuries and three fifties and a best score of an unbeaten 119.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill suffered an injury to his thumb on day 2 of the match simulation against India A in Perth.

After injuring his finger while fielding in the slips, he went for scans and the results shocked the Indian team. It was found that the star batter had fractured his left thumb and will be missing the first Test. However, he is expected to recover in time for the second Test.