Amidst all the rumours regarding Rohit Sharma’s unavailability, the first batch of the Indian cricket team has left for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It was previously confirmed that the management has decided to take players to Australia in two batches, one on Sunday and the other on Monday. This was due to the logistical constraints. Expectedly, several players, including Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar were seen reaching the Mumbai airport on Sunday night. Unsurprisingly, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma weren’t part of the first batch.
Team India leave for Australia sans Kohli-Rohit
Apart from Siraj and Sundar, the trio of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Akash Deep also left for Australia. It is reported that only five of these players, alongside some coaching staff are part of the first batch. This means, the majority of the team will fly after Monday’s press conference. Yes, head coach Gautam Gambhir will be addressing the media in a press conference before leaving for Australia with the second batch of players. He is slated to answer the questions from the journalist in Mumbai around 9 AM IST. You can also watch the live telecast on Star Sports Network.
Virat Kohli is likely to fly with the second batch tomorrow. As for Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper is expected to miss the initial part of the BGT, courtesy of personal reasons. Hence, it is unlikely he will travel with the team. In his absence, Jasprit Bumrah, who is the Test vice-captain of India, will assume the leadership duties. It must be noted that the likes of KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar (reserves), Khaleel Ahmed (reserves) and Navdeep Saini (reserves) are all already in Australia. All these players, part of the BGT squad, participated in the recent four-day two-match unofficial Test series against Australia A.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy schedule
| Match | Dates | Teams | Venue |
| 1st Test | 22-26 November 2024 | Australia Men vs India Men | Perth Stadium, Perth |
| 2nd Test | 6-10 December 2024 | Australia Men vs India Men | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide |
| 3rd Test | 14-18 December 2024 | Australia Men vs India Men | The Gabba, Brisbane |
| 4th Test | 26-30 December 2024 | Australia Men vs India Men | MCG, Melbourne |
| 5th Test | 3-7 January 2025 | Australia Men vs India Men | SCG, Sydney |
India’s squad for the BGT 2024-25
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
