India captain Rohit Sharma will not be part of the opening Test match against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which will begin next week in Perth. The 37-year-old and his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, had their second child on Friday. However, he will be joining the Indian squad in Adelaide for the second Test, and will also play a warm-up game prior to the match.

The Hindustan Times, on Saturday, reported that Rohit will miss the opening Test at the Optus Stadium and hence, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the Indian side in the Perth game, which will begin on November 22. He will, however, be on the Australian shore before the start of the second Test, in Adelaide.

On Sunday, a fresh report in ESPNCricinfo said that Rohit had already informed the BCCI of his travel plans to Australia, saying that he would be available for the two-day pink-ball warm-up game against the Australian Prime Minister's XI, starting on November 30, less than a week before the day-night Test in Adelaide.

KL Rahul's back and fit for Perth opener

With Rohit out, India will be without two of their mainstay batters in the opening Test match. Earlier on Saturday, Shubman Gill fractured his thumb while batting in the intra-squad match at the WACA and is likely to miss the match in Perth.

India did suffer a scare a day before, on Friday, at the start of the warm-up game in Perth, when KL Rahul was struck on his elbow by a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna. The India batter immediately left the field, grimacing in pain, and did not return later, or on Day 2 of the match. However, in a major boost for the Indian team, he was spotted training at the nets on Sunday, with no visible pain.

"Based on the reporting, I was a lot more confident that he should be fine," Yogesh Parmar, one of India's physiotherapists who accompanied Rahul for the X-rays and scans, said on a post on X from BCCI. "It was just a matter of controlling the pain and him getting some confidence. From a medical point of view, he is absolutely fine"

"I'm feeling good and I've batted today," Rahul said, "getting ready for the first game. [I] was happy that I could come here early, get some time to get used to the conditions. I've got a lot of time preparing for the series and I'm excited and looking forward to it."

This implies, Rahul is all set to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Perth, although the concern remains around Gill's spot in the line-up. India have retained Devdutt Padikkal from the India A squad as a backup for the tour, while they also have Dhruv Jurel, who was the best batter from India A in the second four-day match in Melbourne against Australia A.

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