Team India suffer BIG blow, THIS star batter may miss Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests

Team India will be heading down under to Australia to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which they have retained since 2016-17. In their last two tours to Australia, India have managed to come out on top with 2-1 margin in the four-Test series.

This time around Team India will be facing ODI World champions Australia in a five-match Test series but they have already suffered a big blow even before the series can get underway. There is speculation that Indian Test captain Rohit Sharma will be forced to miss one of the first two Tests – the first Test gets underway in Perth from November 22 while second Test starts in Adelaide on December 6.

“There isn’t any complete clarity about the situation. It is understood that Rohit has intimated to the BCCI that there is a possibility that due to a pressing personal matter, he might have to skip one of the two Tests at the beginning of the series,” a BCCI was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

“In case, the personal issue is sorted before the start of the series, he might play all five Tests. We will get to know more in coming days,” he said.

 

Rohit Sharma might miss few matches of the BGT.

BCCI source “Rohit Sharma has intimated to the BCCI that there is a possibility that he might have to skip one of the two Tests at the beginning of the Australia series due to personal reasons.”pic.twitter.com/yBdveiTOQK

— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) October 10, 2024

The 37-year-old Rohit played both the home Tests against Bangladesh. India will next host New Zealand for a three-Test rubber starting October 16.

Back in 2020-21, then skipper Virat Kohli also had to return home early from Australia for the birth of his daughter Vamika. Kohli only played in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval but Ajinkya Rahane stepped up to lead the side in the remaining series which India went on to win 2-1.

In case, Rohit misses a Test match in Australia, the in-form Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to be his cover although Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are also players with enough experience in the opening slot. Easwaran will also be in Australia with the India A team which he is supposed to lead.

However, there is no word who the vice-captain of the Test team will be as there was no official deputy for Rohit during the recent home series against Bangladesh.

“I think we need to understand that we have got a lot of IPL captains in this team. When you talk about the likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, hopefully a Yashasvi (Jaiswal) going forward. There are a lot of players who have led their franchises,” Abhishek Nayar told the media on the eve of the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.

There are three candidates for the role – Rohit’s white ball deputy Gill, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has led India in a Test in England, and keeper-batter Rishabh Pant.

Australia to miss services of Cameron Green

India’s opponents Australia have also suffered a major injury blow. All-rounder Cameron Green is all but ruled out of the five-Test series after deciding to undergo back surgery for a recurring injury. The 25-year-old all-rounder has had four previous stress fractures but none since 2019 and has been managed very carefully through his first four years in international cricket.

If Green is unavailable, and Steve Smith moves to No. 4, it opens the door for an opener to be picked from Shield cricket with Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw all in the running as they were last summer before Smith put his hand up to open.