Virat Kohli, the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Australia, is also the first player to arrive in Perth, Australia for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 that begins on November 22.
Kohli traveled before the first batch of players, who left from Mumbai on November 10. He was seen reaching the Mumbai airport and was accompanied by his wife Anushka Sharma and two kids. The star batter obliged fans with selfies and autographs before making his way into the airport.
Virat Kohli lands in Australia
“Virat Kohli left before the two batches and has already reached Perth. One batch of players is already on their way and the second batch leaves today,” a source told Times of India.
The players that left in the first group on Sunday were Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. They then caught a connecting aircraft to Perth via Singapore. Alongside the young players who boarded the airplane was assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
Jasprit Bumrah and second batch of players to leave for Australia on Monday; Rohit Sharma to stay back
Coach Gautam Gambhir spoke to the media before the departure of the remaining players, except vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah and support staff, who will fly to Australia on Monday. Later tonight, Bumrah is expected to board the aircraft.
Coach Gambhir stated that a decision about captain Rohit Sharma’s participation will be made at the start of the first Test match in Perth on November 22. On his replacement at the top of the order, the coach revealed Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul as the two candidates.
“There is no confirmation on Rohit as of now, hopefully he will play. We will let you know before the series starts. 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,” Gambhir stated.
Gambhir also confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will captain India in first Test, in case Rohit Sharma fails to make it to Perth in time.
“Bumrah is vice-captain; if Rohit is not available, he is going to be lead in Perth,” said.
The WACA Ground is under lockdown in an effort to keep the Indian camp completely behind closed doors, but the West Australian is aware that India will start practicing there on Tuesday in preparation for the first Test.
Due to injury concerns, a scheduled three-day match versus India A at the WACA was canceled.
India’s squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar
Traveling reserves: Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar
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