Rohit Sharma vs Shubman Gill - who would India miss more in the 1st BGT 2024-25 Test?
Team India enter one of their most challenging series - the final frontier, to be precise - against Australia away from home without two of their finest batters in recent times.
Shubman Gill and captain Rohit Sharma have been ruled out of the first Test of the series to be played in Perth from Friday, November 22. This adds a bare look to the Indian cupboard already reeling from a humiliating 0-3 loss to New Zealand at home earlier this month.
While Sharma has stayed back home to spend time with his family post the birth of his second child, Gill sustained a thumb injury while fielding in the slips during a match simulation session in Perth ahead of the match.
Injuries to two batters who helm crucial positions in the batting order - opener and number three - will invite criticism of the stingiest kind if things go wrong for the Men in Blue. Jasprit Bumrah will have to step up and take charge, as he did in England in 2022.
While domestic behemoth Abhimanyu Easwaran seems to be the most natural choice to open in Sharma's absence, the Indian team management have thrown the race open by asking Devdutt Padikkal to stay back from his India A duties.
Of course, the idea of asking KL Rahul to open the innings for India A in a match earlier this month against Australia A may have also opened the door to speculation about these two Karnataka batters perhaps bypassing the former Bengal captain who averages a godlike 48.87 in 101 first-class matches.
Both these absences are going to hurt India, but Sharma's especially so given the kind of experience he was supposed to have offered the team to go with his special skills at the top of the order.
Few critics can dare assert Sharma to be among the finest Test batters in the world, but his cavalier approach often helps India win the day when things seem challenging while viewed from a microscopic perspective. It is also clear that his measly average of 33 in overseas Tests does not inspire a lot of confidence.
Shubman Gill averages an awe-inspiring 51 in Tests in Australia
Gill, on the other hand, was a part of the Indian team that tasted victory in the 2020-21 series Down Under, and averages 51 in the country, with a highest score of 91. In the six Test innings that he has played in Australia, the Punjab batter has scored 259 runs with two half-centuries, and his record certainly gives the Indian cricket fan a lot of confidence in his apparent mastery of the conditions.
Therefore, it goes without saying that his absence from the side will be deeply worrying. What will be even more disheartening is the fact that India do not have any readymade batters for number three, unlike the opener's slot, and if educated guesses were to take one far, it would either be Virat Kohli or Rahul who would be asked to don the position.
Gill's footwork and quick judgment of length make him a threat in all conditions, but more so in Australia where the bounce and seam of the deliveries make batters squirm in discomfort at all times.
Sharma's absence, on the other hand, will be more of a metaphorical blow for the Indians given that they will be without their leader ahead of the biggest battle they will undertake in this World Test Championship cycle.
The 37-year-old may be touring Australia for the last time in his career anyway, and India will expect a lot of fireworks from him once he reports for duty ahead of the second Test.
The burden of leadership will have to be borne by Bumrah and Kohli in the first Test, and it is a blessing that both Sharma and Gill are expected to be fit in time for the second match in Adelaide on December 6. However, this will not be the first time that India will go into an away series against Australia without their proper captain in the ranks.
Kohli missed three Tests of the 2020-21 BGT owing to the birth of his first child as well, and the redoubtable Ajinkya Rahane took over the reins to guide them to a spectacular 2-1 series win. There might just be an omen for Team India out there somewhere.