India will be without captain Rohit Sharma for the first Test against Australia.
According to a report from ESPN Cricinfo, the 37-year-old has remained at home for the birth of his second child and won’t make it to Perth in time for Friday’s series opener.
Sharma had been racing the clock, but it now appears he won’t feature for India until the second game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Adelaide Oval.
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His wife Ritika gave birth on Friday, but he told the BCCI he would not travel until the two-day warm-up game against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI on November 30.
Sharma’s absence will leave two vacancies in the XI for the clash against the Aussies.
Firstly, selectors will need to decide on a new opening batter to replace Sharma and their options are starting to look quite thin.
Shubman Gill, who has been locked into the No.3 spot in recent times but has opened before at Test level, was ruled out over the weekend due to a broken thumb.
Another option is KL Rahul, who was under an injury cloud himself after being struck on the elbow during practice, but has been deemed fit to play and could fill the void.
Abhimanyu Easwaran and Devdutt Padikkal are also in the mix to open the batting.
The other dilemma facing the tourists will be who leads the side, with vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah naturally in the box-seat despite only having one game of experience as Test skipper.
Virat Kohli, who led the side for almost a decade at Test level, may also be considered given his experience and the fact it would only be a short-term arrangement.