Rohit Sharma continues to train in Mumbai, likely to depart for Australia after birth of second child

There seems to be little clarity on Rohit Sharma's departure to Australia for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scheduled for November 22. The skipper did not travel with the team, which departed in two batches for the island nation, and was instead spotted honing his skills with the bat in Mumbai.

As far as his travel to Australia is concerned, it is anticipated that he will only take a decision on that post the birth of his second child. However, Rohit has been putting in long hours by leveraging the facilities of the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Reliance Corporate Park since the past few days. 

"There is no clarity yet on his departure. It all depends on how things unfold on the personal front. He is doing what any father would at this stage, which is to stay with his wife and family. But at the same time, he is ensuring to be well-tuned for the Test series and will be batting at every possible opportunity in Mumbai," stated a source familiar with the matter, as quoted by The Times of India.

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As for the rest of India's squad, they left from Mumbai in two different lots on November 10 and November 11, respectively. Assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, along with the likes of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Akash Deep left on the 10th. On the other hand, the rest of the cricketers, barring Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, left with head coach Gautam Gambhir on the subsequent day.

Kohli was the first player to touch down in Perth on last Sunday. The former skipper was spotted leaving for Australia with Bollywood actress and wife, Anushka Sharma, and their two children. The incumbent vice-captain of the red-ball side, Jasprit Bumrah, left on Monday night, travelling independently of the second group.