Team India captain, Rohit Sharma dropped a big update on his availability in the first Test of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Speaking after India’s first-ever Test series whitewash at home in three or more Tests, Rohit Sharma opened up on his availability for the first Test match, set to kickstart from November 22 in Perth.
Addressing the press conference after the hosts were clean swept 0-3 in the three-match Test series at home, Rohit added that he is not sure if he would be available for the first Test of the five-match Test series against Australia down under. “Not sure whether I will be going, fingers crossed,” Rohit said after India’s 25-run loss in the third Test to New Zealand.
Speaking in JioCinema, former cricketer turned broadcaster Abhinav Mukund also confirmed the rumours that Rohit Sharma is expecting his second child with wife Ritika Sajdeh and might miss the first Test because of the same reason, however he is not sure at this point of time.
I was not at my best with both bat and as a captain: Rohit Sharma
The 37-year-old who had a forgettable outing in the three-match Test series against New Zealand, opened up on his and the team’s performances. He also accepted that he wasn’t at his best with the bat as well as captain. “We made a lot of mistakes and we will have to accept it. We did not put enough runs on the board in the 1st innings (in Bengaluru and Pune) and we were behind in the game, here, we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was achievable as well, we had to do better though. You want runs on the board as well, that is something that was there in my mind,” he said.
“You have got to be ahead and be proactive, we are playing on such pitches in the last 3-4 years, we know how to play (and play well). But this series, it did not come off and that is going to hurt. Also, I was not at my best with both bat and as a captain, that is something that will rankle me. But, we did not perform well collectively and that is the reason for these losses,” he concluded.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R. Ashwin, R. Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.