The suspense over Rohit Sharma's availability for the series opener in Australia was one of the topic discussed during Gautam Gambhir's press meet in Mumbai on Monday morning. Rohit is expecting the birth of his second child, which may lead the Indian skipper to miss the first Test in Perth, starting from November 22.
India's head coach during the press meet was asked to share an update on Rohit's availability in the Test. "At the moment there is no confirmation but we guys will let you exactly what the situation will be. Hopefully he is going to be available, but we will get to know everything before the start of the series," Gambhir informed during the press conference.
In the absence of Rohit, it will either by Abhimanyu Easwaran or KL Rahul, who'll be seen opening the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Both the batters are already in Australia and were part of the unofficial Tests against Australia A.
Talking about the opening options available, Gambhir said: "Obviously there is (Abhimanyu) Easwaran and KL (Rahul). So we will take a call closer to the first Test match if Rohit is not available. We have options there, it's not we don't have options so once we get close to the first Test match, we'll plan the best playing XI, who is going to the job for us."
Rahul was part of the second unofficial Test and opened the innings alongside Easwaran, but his lean patched continued. The star batter could only manage a combined score of 14 in both innings, which also featured an "astonishing" dismissal against Australian spinner Corey Rocchiccioli in the second innings.
Easwaran, on the other hand, boasts of a stellar record in the domestic circuit. He, however, failed to replicate the same against Australia A in both the unofficial Tests. The opener managed 36 runs from four innings.
Gambhir also confirmed that if Rohit is not available for the match "Jasprit Bumrah will lead India in Perth Test."
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