Team India are gearing up to face Australia in the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the availability of skipper Rohit Sharma for the first Test in Perth, hangs in the balance. As per several reports, Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh are expecting the birth of their second child, and hence, Rohit is expected to miss the first Test of the marquee series. As it remains unclear whether Rohit will be available or not, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had said that if Rohit indeed misses the first Test, then it should be Jasprit Bumrah, who should lead India for the entire series against Australia.
Now, Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika Sajdeh has seemingly reacted to this comments via Instagram. It all started with Sunil Gavaskar telling Sports Tak, “We have been reading that Rohit Sharma will not play in the first Test, perhaps he will not play in the second as well. If this is the case, then I say that, right now, the Indian selection committee should say that ‘if you have to rest, rest, if there are personal reasons then look at them. But if you are missing two-thirds of the matches then you should go for this tour only as a player. We will make the vice-captain the captain of this tour’.”
“Indian cricket is the most important. I would say that if we had won the New Zealand series 3-0, it would have been a different matter. Because we have lost this series 3-0, there is a need for a captain. The captain has to unite the team. If there is no captain in the beginning, it is better to make someone else the captain,” he added.
However, former Australia captain Aaron Finch was not in agreement with what Sunil Gavaskar had to say, and while speaking to ‘Around The Wicket’ podcast on ESPNcricinfo, he said, “I disagree with Sunny on that totally. Rohit Sharma is the captain of the Indian cricket team. If you need to stay at home because your wife is having a baby… that’s such a beautiful moment… and you take all the time that you need in that regard.”
Ritika Sajdeh appreciates Aaron Finch’s statement
Rohit Sharma’s wife Ritika has now come out in support of what Aaron Finch had to say. She reacted with a ‘salute’ emoji while tagging Finch on an Instagram post, which highlighted both Gavaskar and Finch’s comments.
Earlier, after the series loss against New Zealand at home, Rohit Sharma had said that he is not sure about his availability for the Perth Test.
“Right now, I am not too sure whether I’ll be going, but let’s see. Fingers crossed,” Rohit said during the post-match press conference.
India currently face an uphill task in their bid to make the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The side now cannot afford another loss, and they must defeat Australia 4-0 or 5-0, to make the final, without depending on other results.
