After Rohit Sharma confirmed that he is unlikely to play the first test of the five-match Test series against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar urged the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to remove him as catain for the entire Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) and give the vice-captain (Jasprit Bumrah) the captaincy for the entire series. “It is important for the captain to play the first Test match. It’s different if he is injured, but if he is not available, then the deputy leader will be under a lot of pressure. I have been reading that Rohit Sharma might not play the first two Tests of the Australia series. "I feel that, in that case the selection committee should appoint Jasprit Bumrah the captain of the side for the entire Australia tour, and tell Rohit Sharma that you will participate as a player in this series. For the first Test match, Rohit Sharma has to be there,” said Gavaskar to Sports Tak.

Sunil Gavaskar's Suggestion Shut DownHowever, Australia's 2021 T20 World Cup -winning skipper Aaron Finch dismissed Gavaskar's suggestion and stated that Rohit deserves to spend time as needed at home. "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's going to have a baby… that's such a beautiful moment… and you take all the time that you need in that regard,"said
Finch to the Around the Wicket Podcast. It is worth noting that neither the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or Rohit himself has revealed the reason behind his possible absence so far. After the Perth Test, Team India will move to Adelaide for the second match from December 6 to 10 which will be a pink-ball Test. The third Test will take place from December 14-18 in Brisbane. Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7) will host the final two games in the traditional Boxing Day and New Year's Test. Bumrah has previously led India in one Test match against England in Edgbaston (2022) when Rohit was unavailable for selection after being diagnosed with COVID-19.