File image of Rohit Sharma (left) and Virat Kohli.© BCCI

India captain Rohit Sharma could miss the first Test of the five-match series against Australia, starting November 22 in Perth. Rohit and his wife Ritika Sajdeh welcomed their second child on Friday. Jasprit Bumrah, who is the vice-captain of India for the series, will be handed over the leadership duties in case Rohit is absent in any of the games, informed head coach Gautam Gambhir earlier this week. Former India player Suresh Raina has backed the idea. He even went on to compare Bumrah with Pat Cummins, under whose leadership Australia won the World Test Championship title and Cricket World Cup in 2023.

“For Bumrah, it’s going to be a new opportunity. I think he is a good leader and has a good cricketing brain. Even Gauti bhai (coach Gautam Gambhir) said in the media that Jasprit has that astute leadership (quality), and I think he will be different,” Raina told Times of India.

“Like if you see Pat Cummins, he won the World Cup for them (Australia), has done really well as a player and as a captain. I think Bumrah is close to that. If you look at it from the point of an opportunity, it’s a gun opportunity for him. If he does well, I think we will have a future leader in Test cricket,” he added.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday confirmed that pace spearhead Bumrah will lead the national men’s cricket team if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the first Test of the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

“Bumrah is vice-captain; if Rohit is not available, he is going to lead in Perth,” Gambhir stated during a pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Monday.

While Rohit Sharma is not currently with the squad, he has not been officially ruled out of the series opener.

Gambhir provided an update on Rohit’s status, saying, “At the moment, there is no confirmation but we will let you know exactly what the situation will be. Hopefully, he’s going to be available, but everything we’re going to get to know at the start of the series.”

Gambhir’s announcement highlights the team’s contingency plans as they prepare to face Australia, with Bumrah ready to step into the leadership role if needed.

Following India’s shambolic fall against New Zealand on home turf, the road to the WTC final has become a tricky affair.

With a 3-0 series whitewash, India need to win the series by 4-0 to punch their ticket to feature in London for the WTC final for the third successive time.

(With ANI Inputs)

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina said that Bangladesh cannot be taken lightly as the Asian side has a fine bowling attack as India prepares, adding that this series will be a practice match ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Raina was speaking at a Legends League Cricket (LLC) event in Delhi on Thursday. Speaking to ANI, Raina said, “Now, a team for Tests will be formed. Top players playing Duleep Trophy is a nice initiative by the BCCI. You get to know a lot of things when you play red-ball cricket.”

“You cannot take Bangladesh lightly as they have a fine spin bowling attack and some good players who have done well for a long time. This series will be a fine match practice for the tour to Australia,” he added.

The Duleep Trophy, which marks the beginning of red-ball cricket in the domestic season, will feature top Indian stars from the international circuit and emerging talents competing at the highest level. The tournament is set to begin on September 5, 2024, in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

Star India batters Rishabh Pant, Kishan, Shubman Gill and many more players are set to feature in the Duleep Trophy 2024-25 season.

Also, India will be playing a two-match series against Bangladesh at home from September 19 to October 1, in which Bangladesh spinners like Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan etc could feature. The squad for the Indian tour has not been announced yet.

This will be followed by a three-match test series against New Zealand from October 16 to November 5. These two series’ will pave India’s preparation for the Border Gavaskar Trophy later this year.

Speaking on Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s ICC T20 World Cup campaign, Raina lauded Pant for his “passion, hard work, mentality and great determination”.

“The way he practises, he is doing very good wicket-keeping, he has batted very well and when you win the World Cup you know how much fun it is,” added Raina.

Pant was the third-highest run-getter for India in their T20 World Cup triumph. He amassed 171 runs at an average of 24.42 in eight matches and also contributed with his skills behind the stumps with 14 dismissals, the most by a wicketkeeper in a single T20 WC edition. His influential performances helped India end their 13-year-long ICC World Cup drought.

On the future of a polarising Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year, Raina said that the rule adds and changes a lot within the game by adding one extra batter or bowler to the side and expressed his preference for “old school cricket” with 11 players.

Legends League Cricket will be played in India and Qatar from September 11 to October 5 this year.