Rohit Sharma not travelling to Australia with team, 1st Test participation in doubt

India captain Rohit Sharma is not travelling with the team to Australia, top sources have told India Today. Rohit will miss India's flight to Australia, which will fly out on November 11 and 12, in two batches.

It is learnt that Rohit Sharma will stay back in India for the birth of his second child. Rohit's wife, Ritika, is expected to give birth in the third week of November.

"Rohit Sharma won't travel with the team to Australia. There were suggestions he might travel but now he isn't. His wife's delivery is expected next week," a source said. 

Given that Rohit is not travelling with the side, it puts his participation in doubt for the opening Test match of the series. India are set to take on Australia in Perth on 22 November, which is expected to set the tone for the rest



of the series.

India are under the pump and cannot afford to lose a single match if they are to directly qualify for the final of the World Test Championship.

Things have been busy for the India captain after losing a home Test series against New Zealand. News agency PTI news agency reported that Rohit was a part of a 6-hour review meeting, hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to discuss the shock result - India's first-ever whitewash at home.

"It was a six-hour marathon meeting, which was obviously on cards after such a debacle. India are going on a tour of Australia, and the BCCI would obviously like to ensure that the team is back on track and would like to know how the think-tank (Gambhir-Rohit-Agarkar) are going about it," a senior BCCI source told the agency.