New Delhi: Jasprit Bumrah will lead India if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable in the first Test against Australia, confirmed head coach Gautam Gambhir, who also said that he isn’t worred about the form of senior batters like Virat Kohli.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Gambhir said that there is still no confirmation of Rohit’s status for the first Test that begins on November 22 in Perth.
If the opener becomes unavailable for personal reasons, designated vice-captain Bumrah will lead the team.
“We have no confirmation as of now. We will let you know when we get more details, Hopefully he will be available. Jasprit Bumrah is the vice-captain. If Rohit misses out, he will be the captain,” the former India batter said, accepting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the 0-3 whitewash.
“The learning is to accept that we were outplayed. I’m not here to defend myself. We were outplayed in all three departments. We accept the criticism with both hands.”
Rohit and Kohli’s lean run with the bat in the Bangladesh and New Zealand Tests have put them under intense pressure but Gambhir backed the veteran duo to perform in the five-Test series in Australia as they retain the hunger to succeed in international cricket.
“I got no concerns whatsoever for Rohit and Virat. I think they are incredibly tough men and they have achieved a lot for Indian cricket and will continue to do so. My role is to ensure that they’re hunger is still there and they continue to work really hard,” the former top-order batter said.
‘Rahul, Easwaran options as opener’
Though KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran were unimpressive in tour games against Australia A, they remain the top choices to open the innings should Rohit doesn’t play in Perth.
“We will take a call closer to the first Test if Rohit is not available. KL Rahul is there. Abhimanyu is there. We will try to play the best possible XI,” Gambhir said.
“KL Rahul can bat in the top order, he can bat at 3, he can play at 6 – so you need a lot of talent to do all these jobs & he keeps in ODIs – imagine how many countries have players like KL and he is one of the options if Rohit is not available.”
Adapting to the seaming and bouncy conditions in Australia remains key to India’s ambitions of winning the Border-Gavaskar series, Gambhir said, adding the team is ready to play on any given surface.
“We have a lot of experienced players who have played in these conditions. Those inputs will be crucial for the young players. We have ten days of preparation ahead of the first Test.
“We don’t control the wickets they give. We have all the basis covered. Whatever they give, bouncy tracks, turning tracks and green wickets. We still have to go out there and play to our potential. If we do so we can defeat anyone on any wicket,” he said.
The first batch of Indian players that includes Yashasvi Jasiwal, Shubman Gill, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar left for Australia on Sunday evening, Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and strength and conditioning coach Soham Shah were also part of this batch
The second batch of players will leave on Monday and are expected to reach Australia in the early hours of Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, India head coach Gautam Gambhir said that there is still no confirmation on Rohit Sharma’s status for the first Test against Australia that begins on November 22 in Perth. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
