India head coach Gautam Gambhir has revealed that pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side in first Border-Gavaskar Test in Perth if regular skipper Rohit Sharma isn’t available. Gambhir made the comments during the pre-tour press conference on Monday (Nov 11) in Mumbai ahead of team’s departure.
There’s doubt over skipper Rohit’s availability for the first Test of series which starts November 22 in Perth. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, had named pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the vice-captain while announcing the squad. Gambhir, at the press conference, confirmed that Bumrah will be leading the side if Rohit’s unavailable for the Perth Test.
“Bumrah is vice captain; if Rohit is not available, he is going to be lead in Perth,” said Gambhir. “There is no confirmation on Rohit as of now, hopefully he will play. We will let you know before the series,” he added.
Gambhir also discussed the potential replacement options if Rohit doesn’t play the Test and said that both Rahul and Eswaran are there to take up the slot.
“We have Abhimanyu Eswaran and KL Rahul in the squad so we will play the best XI and take the call before the first Test,” said the head coach.
Gambhir also defended KL Rahul and said that the batter is fit to play at ay position and said: KL Rahul can bat in the top order, he can bat at No. 3, he can play at No. 6. So you need a lot of talent to do all these jobs, and he keeps (wickets) in ODIs. Imagine how many countries have players like KL!”
India’s tour of Australia begins on November 22 in Perth before the day-night second Test in Adelaide from December 6-10. The third Test will be played at the Gabba in Brisbane from December 14-18 before the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26-30. The last and final Test will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 3-7.