New dad Rohit Sharma to miss 4th Test, will join squad before ODI series

Rohit has flown back from Melbourne and will rejoin the squad on January 8 ahead of the three-match ODI series beginning January 12 in Sydney.

Rohit Sharma will miss the fourth Test match in Sydney starting from January 3 to be with his wife Ritika Sajdeh who gave birth to a baby girl late on Sunday. Rohit will join the squad for the five-match ODI series on January 8, announced BCCI.

Rohit boarded the Mumbai-bound flight hours after India’s 137-run victory in the third Test match at Melbourne that gave them an unassailable 2-1 lead in Australia for the first time. Rohit played his part in the match scoring an unbeaten 63 in India’s first innings that laid the foundation for the victory, which was also India’s 150^th Test win.

"India batsman Rohit Sharma left for Mumbai on the 30th of December to attend to his wife who has delivered a baby girl. The BCCI congratulates Rohit on the beginning of a new chapter in his life," the BCCI said in a statement. The three-match ODI series begins from January 12.

BCCI has not named any replacements for Rohit for the New Year’s Test in Sydney, that may pave way for all-rounder Hardik Pandya to play his first match of the series. However, India could also bring in Ashwin, who has regained his fitness if the Sydney pitch assists the spinners.

Rohit once again failed to play the entire series. After starting the series at No. 6 in Adelaide, he was forced to sit out of the Perth Test – the only which India lost – because of a back injury. He then a made a comeback in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.

Rohit and his wife Ritika were tight-lipped right from the beginning about the birth of their first child. It was Ritika's cousin sister Seema Khan, who is the wife of actor-producer Sohail Khan, who confirmed the news on her Instagram account with the caption "Baby girl, masi's again," and tagged Ritika in the Insta story.

 

Rohit first time spoke about the pregnancy of his wife in an interview with former Australian captain Michael Clarke.

"I cannot wait to be a father; it is going to be a game-changing moment in our lives. I am eagerly awaiting the moment of becoming a father. It will be a moment to change our life," Rohit told Clarke.