Why is Rohit Sharma not playing today's 1st BGT 2024-25 Test in Perth?

India would be without skipper Rohit Sharma in the first Test of the 2024-24 Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Perth on Friday, November 22. Rohit is on paternity leave and spending some time with his family after the birth of his second child with his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, on November 15.

The skipper didn't travel with the rest of the Indian squad to Perth. According to media reports, he'll join the team on Sunday, November 24, the third day of the first Test. Rohit will be available for the second match of the series in Adelaide starting December 6.

Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side in his absence.

"It is an honour. I have my own style. Virat was different, Rohit was different. and I have my own way. It is a privilege. I don't take it as a position. I love taking responsibility. I spoke with Rohit earlier. But I got a little bit of clarity on leading the side after coming in here," Bumrah said in the press conference on the eve of the series.

Rohit might also be able to participate in India's two-day warm-up game from November 30 against a Prime Minister's 11 in Canberra.

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India's playing 11 without Rohit Sharma

Ending days of speculation, India went with KL Rahul as the opener for the first Test in Rohit's absence. Rahul, who has been batting for India mostly in the middle order for the past few months, has scored 187 runs at an average of 20.77 in Australia.

He was preferred over Abhimanyu Easwaran, who's a prolific run-scorer on the Indian domestic circuit but offered four low scores - 0, 7, 17, 12 - in two India 'A' games ahead of Tests.

India's playing 11: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (c) and Mohammed Siraj.

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