Rohit Sharma to play Perth Test vs Australia? India captain’s itinerary revealed in new report

Having been whitewashed 0-3 by New Zealand, the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is of utmost importance to India. Earlier there were reports that Rohit might not travel with the team for the first Test in Perth. But now it looks like he will be featuring in the match. According to Sports Tak, Rohit will leave for the Australia series with India’s first batch.

India will travel for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in two batches, with the first departing on November 10. Meanwhile, the second group will leave on November 11. The BCCI were unable to book the entire team on a single commercial flight due to commercial reasons.

There is still no confirmation if Rohit will participate in the first Test. Earlier reports stated that he and Ritika Sajdeh are expecting their second child and Rohit would not be playing in the series opener.

After the third and final Test against New Zealand, Rohit had said, “I am not sure of my availability for the first Test in Perth, Fingers Crossed.”

India’s WTC fate

India’s hunt for a spot in the WTC final suffered a massive blow after their whitewash by New Zealand. India are now second in the WTC standings. Before the NZ series, India needed four wins in eight Tests to automatically qualify. But now they need to win four or five TEsts in Australia. A 3-0 series win will guarantee qualification, but it will also depend on the result between New Zealand vs England.

If India win the series 3-0, 3-1, 4-1, then they will reach the WTC final, provided that England manages to draw at least one Test vs New Zealand. But if India finish with a 2-0 win, they will need England to beat New Zealand in at least one of their Tests. In case India win 3-2, then they will need England to defeat New Zealand in one Tests, and also required Sri Lanka to defeat Australia in one Tests, to come in top two of the WTC standings.