3 Opener Candidates To Replace Rohit Sharma Against Australia: Former Indian cricketer and current head coach of the Indian cricket team, Gautam Gambhir has dropped a major hint on Rohit Sharma’s participation in the much-awaited opening Test match of the Border Gavaskar series in Perth. There have been speculations that Rohit Sharma will miss the opening Test match of the series to welcome his s–econd child with wife Ritika Sajdeh, however, there have been no confirmation regarding the same so far.
Gautam Gambhir also stressed that there is no confirmation yet. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Australia tour, Gautam Gambhir said:
“At the moment there’s no confirmation. Hopefully he will be available. We’ll let you know,” Gambhir told the press.
It has to be noted that after suffering a 3-0 clean sweep at the hands of New Zealand at home, Rohit Sharma himself admitted that he was ‘not sure’ of his availability in the upcoming tour.
Meanwhile, if Rohit Sharma is not able to make it to the opening Test, bowling sensation Jasprit Bumrah can lead the Indian cricket team in his absence. Speaking on this, Gautam Gambhir had said:
“Bumrah is the vice-captain so he’s going to lead if Rohit is not available.”
Who Can Replace Rohit Sharma as Opener in the First Test Against Australia: Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, or Abhishek Easwaran?
While there are chances that Jasprit Bumrah can lead the Indian cricket team in Rohit Sharma’s absence, there is still a doubt on who will open in his absence.
Young Indian opener Shubman Gill played an instrumental role in Team India’s historic win in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2021. Shubman Gill played a glorious innings of 91 runs against Australia at the iconic Gabba in Brisbane 2021. All thanks to his knock and contribution of others, the Indian cricket team was able to break the Gabba streak of Australia.
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Shubman Gill has experience opening the innings in white-ball formats. However, with KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran in the squad, it seems unlikely that Gill will take on that role.
Speaking about the vacant opening slot if Rohit Sharma missed the opening test, Gambhir said, “we have got Easwaran and KL in Australia. We will take a call.”
Explaining Rahul’s role in the team, Gambhir stated, “There are times you go with experienced players as well. He can bat at the top, middle order and at No. 6 as well. He can keep wicket; can do the job for us if Rohit is not available for the 1st Test.”
Can India retain Border Gavaskar Trophy?
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy hasn’t left India in eight years, but this time there is some concern. People are worried that Australia might finally win it back since India isn’t in great form. However, Gambhir has expressed confidence that the Indian team will perform well in Australia.
Speaking about the preparation, Team India coach said, “Challenge is the conditions. It is different in India and Australia. Be it support staff or players. If we can get good preparation, nothing like it. We’ve been to Australia many times, so that experience will be crucial. Ready to fire from ball one.”
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