Even with less than a week to go before the opening Test in Perth for the start of the five-match red-ball series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, there is no confirmation on Rohit Sharma, the Indian Test captain, and if he is leaving for the trip and would be available for the first game to lead India.
The importance of Rohit Sharma is immense to the Indian set-up. He isn’t only the captain of the side but also the opener and carries the experience in his kitty. In every single innings of the series, the pressure would be on him and Yashasvi Jaiswal to deliver with a cracking opening stand.
The last few weeks have not been healthy for the Indian side in the longest format as they lost their home three-match Test series against New Zealand for the first time since losing to England in the 2011/12 season. This was also their first whitewash at home in the five-day format in more than two decades.
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Rohit Sharma struggled badly against the Kiwis as he could collect only 91 runs in six innings at an average of around 15 with the help of just one half-century, which came during the second innings of the Bengaluru Test. He hardly had any answer against the pacers and spinners after being exposed to both inside and outside edges along with the resilience in the middle.
Sourav Ganguly dissects the process to make Rohit Sharma the Indian Test captain
Questions were also raised on his captaincy, when at times, especially during the second game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, he kept the fielder near the boundary rope, which allowed the new batters to get set in the middle and carry them for big knocks.
The Nagpur-born has featured in seven Tests down under, where he has notched up 408 runs in 14 innings at an average of 31.38 and a strike rate of over 47, shouldering on three half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 63 runs.
Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, India will aim to win their third successive Test series in Australia, and they need four victories, without facing any defeat, to confirm their ticket for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.
The former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, feels that having enjoyed the birth of his second child, Rohit can straightaway leave for Australia and play the first Test, which is still a week away.
“I hope Rohit Sharma goes (to Australia) very soon because the team needs leadership. I believe that his wife delivered a baby boy a couple of days ago (yesterday). So I am sure he can leave as early as possible.” The former opening batter was addressed in a recent interaction with Revsportz. “Today is the 16th (of November). If I were in his position, I would have played the Perth Test (starting on November 22). It’s a week away. It’s a big series. Why won’t he go to Australia after this? He is a fantastic captain. India needs his leadership to start with.”
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The veteran looked back at the process when he urged the Mumbai batter to become the new Test captain of India when Virat Kohli stepped down from the position after the end of the South Africa series in 2021-22.
“Yeah, Rohit Sharma wasn’t (want to become the Test captain), because he had already been captaining every other format. So there was a lot of workload, I don’t believe in workload. Test captain of India will always be the Test captain of India. And I told him that don’t finish your career without being the Test captain of India. And I am not surprised with what he has achieved.” Ganguly recalled.