Rohit Sharma is set to join the India side in Australia on November 24, and will play the two-day pink-ball tour game from November 30 in Canberra, ahead of the day-night Test in Adelaide. The India Test captain was not available for the first Test in Perth as he stayed back in India for the birth of his second child.
In the absence of Rohit, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team at the Optus Stadium. “I spoke with Rohit earlier,” Bumrah said at his press conference on the eve of the first Test in Perth. “But I got a little bit of clarity on leading the side after coming in here.”
Rohit’s return is a boost to the India team, who will have to rely on some fringe players for the series opener in Perth. The two-day pink-ball fixture against the Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval could serve as valuable prep for Rohit and the Indians as the hosts are likely to include some international players and Test hopefuls.
In the last two seasons the Prime Minister’s XI fixture has a four-day contest featuring West Indies in 2022 (which was also a day-night game) and Pakistan in 2023, having traditionally been a limited-overs match, but the India game has been trimmed to just two days.
Rohit will be hoping to find some form, having managed only 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16 against New Zealand at home recently.
India had last played a day-night Test, against Sri Lanka, in Bengaluru in March 2022, when they won by 238 runs. When India last played a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval, they folded for 36 in their second innings but they bounced back spectacularly to win the series 2-1.