India head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will lead India if Rohit Sharma misses the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia in Perth from November 22.
“Bumrah is vice captain; if Rohit is not available, he is going to be lead in Perth,” said Gambhir during the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai.
One batch of the Indian cricket team has already left for Australia on November 10 and the second batch leaves today. Rohit will not be travelling with the side but coach hasn’t ruled out his participation from the series opener yet.
“There is no confirmation on Rohit as of now, hopefully he will play. We will let you know before the series,” said Gambhir.
The management, however, is keeping their back-up plans ready and Gambhir says they have the options of Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul to open in absence of Rohit Sharma.
“We have Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul in the squad so we will play the best XI and take the call before the first Test,” added Gambhir.
India have a long preparatory camp in Perth before the series opener and they would be joined by the India A squad for the match simulations. The two units were earlier scheduled to play a practice match but the management felt it was better to have centre-wicket practice and simulations instead of playing a fixture.
