After Australian World Cup-winning captain Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina has also shown support for Rohit Sharma’s decision to be with his wife for their second child’s birth, making him unavailable for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series.Whether Rohit Sharma will miss only the first Test or the second as well, there is no clarity on the duration of his absence.
Rohit Sharma’s decision has come under scrutiny from fans to experts, with former batter Sunil Gavaskar opining that the team management should declare Jasprit Bumrah as captain for the entire series and Rohit Sharma should play only as a player when he comes back for the Test series. Later, reacting to comments made by Gavaskar, Finch said that the Indian skipper can take all the time in the world to stay with his wife during their child’s birth as it is a beautiful moment.
Rohit Sharma has a personal reason- Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina was having an interaction with Times of India. Suresh Raina pointed out that Rohit Sharma’s wife is expecting their second child which is his most important thing.With Rohit’s absence leaving a vacant spot for the second opener in the first Test, Gautam Gambhir has already announced Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul as optional openers in the pre-departure conference. However, Raina feels that the Indian team should consider Dhruv Jurel as a left-field option.
“Rohit has a personal reason. His wife is expecting (their second child). That’s the most important thing in his life (currently),” said Suresh Raina.
“KL Rahul has a lot of experience. Not to forget, Dhruv Jurel. You never know, they might ask him to open also. It can happen. The coach has to take the call. Jurel can be the X-factor that India are looking for in Australia,” he stated.
While both Easwaran and Rahul failed to score runs in the unofficial Test series against Australia A, Jurel showed his temperament and ability to play in Australian conditions by scoring twin fifties in the second Test in Melbourne.
He added, “You can try him in the first Test. I know when Rohit Sharma comes back, he will open but why not give a chance to a youngster who has done really well. I think they should consider Jurel as an opener when Rohit is not there,”
Not the first time an Indian captain was criticized for paternity leave
During the last tour of Australia (2020-21), then-skipper Virat Kohli also faced similar criticism after he went on paternity leave for the birth of his first child following the infamous 36-all-out in Adelaide. Ajinkya Rahane led the side in the remaining three matches of the series.
With the first Test of the BGT set to begin on November 22 in Perth, all eyes are on the Indian team if it will make history by defeating Australia in Australia for the third time in a row. It looks unlikely that either India or Australia will win the series convincingly as both the teams are evenly matched.
Also Read: BGT 2024-25: Sanjay Manjrekar Backs Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma To Come Good Against Australia