Bumrah likely to lead in first Australia Test

Captain Rohit Sharma and his wife welcome their second child on Friday

India's longer-format captain Rohit Sharma is expected to miss the first Test of the upcoming five-match series against Australia, scheduled to commence from November 22, Indian media reported on Sunday.

According to the reports, Sharma will miss the opening Test as he and his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, welcomed their second child on Friday night.

"It seems like he wants to spend some time with his family before leaving for Australia for what will be a very long tour. Also, it takes time to adjust to the conditions in Australia, so there's no point in arriving at the 11th hour and playing a Test on a bouncy Perth pitch. Apparently, he has communicated to the BCCI that he will join the team before the second Test in Adelaide. There's a long gap between the first and second Tests, and it makes sense for him to play in the tour match at Canberra, starting Nov. 30, before the second Test," a source was quoted as saying by an Indian news website.

In Sharma's absence, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is likely to lead the men in blue against Australia, reports further revealed.

Notably, Sharma is going through a rough patch in Test cricket as the Indian skipper only managed 133 runs in his last 10 innings with the highest score of 52.

Besides Sharma, young top-order batter Shubman Gill will also miss the aforementioned fixture due to a thumb injury.

According to a report, the right-handed batter sustained a hair-line fracture on his left thumb while fielding in the slips during the team's practice match on Saturday.

Schedule of Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT):

First Test: November 22, Perth

Second Test: December 6-10, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 14-18, The Gabba, Brisbane

Boxing Day Test: December 26-30, Melbourne

Fifth Test: January 3-7, Sydney.