 "India captain Rohit Sharma could reportedly miss at least one of the first two Tests against Australia. AP")
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar has called on the BCCI selectors to name a new Team India captain for the upcoming five-match Test series against Australia, should Rohit Sharma remain unavailable for “two-thirds” of the series. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma could reportedly miss one of the first two Tests against Australia in Australia due to personal reasons.
Should Rohit miss any of the Test matches, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will take the responsibility of leading the side. Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran could fill in for Rohit in the playing XI.
Also read | Sunil Gavaskar urges Team India to play a warm-up game in Australia
‘Important for captain to play first Test’
Gavaskar has called for the vice-captain to lead the side for the entire series against Australia. “It is important for the captain to play the first Test. If he gets injured then it is a different matter. In such a situation, if your leader is not available in the first match, then appointing a deputy leader, the pressure that builds on him is a different kind of pressure.
“It will not be easy for him to take the responsibility of captaincy again. We have been reading that Rohit Sharma will not play in the first Test, perhaps he will not play in the second as well. If this is the case then I say that right now the Indian selection committee should say that you have to rest, rest, if there are personal reasons then look at them,” Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
The Rohit Sharma-led India recently lost the three-match Test series against New Zealand at home 3-0. Gavaskar said that there must be some clarity after this kind of defeat. “But if you are missing two-thirds of the matches then you should go for this tour only as a player. We will make the vice-captain the captain of this tour. Because there should be clarity. It is the responsibility of the captain because when we lost 3-0 here, it is important to have a captain. Absolutely necessary,” added the 75-year-old.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts‘Captain has to unite the team’
The former Mumbai cricketer stressed that it’s the responsibility of the captain to unite a team that is coming fresh off a rare Test series defeat at home. “Indian cricket is the most important. I would say that if we had won the New Zealand series 3-0, it would have been a different matter. Because we have lost this series 3-0, there is a need for a captain. The captain has to unite the team. If there is no captain in the beginning, it is better to make someone else the captain,” he opined.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series will get underway with Perth hosting the first Test from 22 November. The series is part of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and India cannot afford to lose any more matches if they are to qualify for next year’s final without depending on other results. India slipped to second place in the WTC standings after the series loss to New Zealand, with Australia taking top spot.