Rohit Sharma cast major doubts on his participation in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth later this month due to personal reasons. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony after India's 0-3 defeat to New Zealand, Rohit said he has “fingers crossed” about his participation. The Indian team will begin a tough five-match Test series in Australia from November 22 in Perth. “I'm not sure if I will go, fingers crossed,” Rohit said after India's 25-run loss in the third Test against New Zealand.
In case Rohit misses the Test, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the side in the series opener while Abhimanyu Easwaran is likely to be his cover.
With India's 0-3 defeat to New Zealand on home soil, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has taken on more significance as both sides once again battle to reach the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).
“We have made a lot of mistakes and we will have to accept that. We did not put enough runs on the board in the first innings (in Bengaluru and Pune) and we were behind in the match, here we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was also achievable, we had to do better though. You also want runs on the board, that was something that was on my mind,” he added.
Talking about his batting struggles throughout the series, Rohit said he couldn't quite put his plans into action and is as disappointed with his performance as anyone else. However, he was full of praise for youngsters Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant for showing how to bat on difficult, spin-friendly deliveries.
“You have to be ahead and be proactive. We have been playing on such pitches for the last three to four years, we know how to play (and play well). But this series has not worked out and that will happen.” I wasn't at my best either, both as a bat and as a captain, which is something that will irritate me. But we have not performed well collectively and that is the reason for these losses,” he concluded.
With PTI inputs
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