Rohit Sharma and Ritika Sajdeh blessed with a baby boy; skipper in contention to play 1st Test in Perth
Team India captain Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika were blessed with their second child, a boy, on the evening of Friday, November 15. Rohit had not traveled with the Indian team and the coaching staff to Australia in anticipation of the crucial moment in his life.
His family is now extended by another member in addition to his wife and first child Samaira, who was born in 2018.
The Indian T20I skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma's teammate at the Mumbai Indians (MI), was among the first to publicly congratulate the family, although there has been no official statement released yet.
"Many, many congratulations to him and his family. It’s the best news on a perfect day. A guy from the family (Tilak Varma from Mumbai Indians) has also scored runs (120 not out off 47 balls). It’s a good thing. I wish him (Rohit) all the best for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy also," Suryakumar Yadav said following India's 3-1 series win over South Africa in Johannesburg (via The Hindu).
Notably, Rohit Sharma remarked during the home series against New Zealand that he might miss the beginning of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to personal reasons.
Rohit Sharma had been practicing in Mumbai over the last few days
While the majority of the team are currently preparing in Australia, getting a hang of the condition, the skipper was also honing his skills in Mumbai. While the skipper can realistically make it in time for the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, beginning from November 22 onwards, it remains to be seen how ready he will be from a preparation point of view.
With no official warm-up matches scheduled, and the match simulation already underway at WACA, Rohit Sharma will have to face the Australian first team with perhaps only a couple of net sessions, should he opt to play.
Anticipating the skipper's absence for the series opener, Team India have tested out their options at the top of the order. Both Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul have had chances as an opener during the build-up to the series, while Dhruv Jurel has also emerged as a left-field choice.