Under-fire Indian captain Rohit Sharma is likely to miss the first Test, and maybe the second Test, of the Border Gavaskar Trophy starting later this month due to the birth of his second child.

Sharma was noncommittal for the series opener at Perth Stadium starting November 22 in the aftermath of India’s historic whitewash at the hands of New Zealand, telling the press pack at his post-match press conference, “not sure whether I will be going, fingers crossed”.

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The 37-year-old will hand over the reins to vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah which will create an intriguing fast bowling captaincy showdown between he and Pat Cummins.

It will be the second time Bumrah has led his country after he filled-in against England in Birmingham two years ago after Sharma was ruled out with Covid-19.

A temporary captain worked wonders for India the last time they were on Australian shores as Virat Kohli returned home for the birth of his first child after India’s defeat in the first Test in Adelaide and Ajinkya Rahane led the side to their unforgettable 2-1 series triumph.

But there are far greater concerns for Sharma’s captaincy than they were for Kohli’s.

The right-handed opener scored only 133 runs at an average of 13.30 in their five recent home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand, and those numbers, coupled with his unavailability, have led Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar to believe that he should be stripped of the captaincy for the highly anticipated 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,” Gavaskar said on Indian digital channel Sports Tak.

“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.”

Sharma’s likely absence also creates uncertainty surrounding the make-up of the Indian batting line-up.

Australia has a much talked about opener problem but India now also have an important decision to make at the top of their order.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been a revelation – averaging 56.28 in 14 Tests – since making his debut in the West Indies last year, but there are several options for who will partner him against the new ball in his first outing in Australia.

Shubman Gill opened the batting four years ago in what was his debut series but has slid down to number three in recent times, while KL Rahul – who averages 20.77 in Australia – opened at times in the two series prior.

He has been deployed at four and six in the last 12 months however, while uncapped opener Abhimanyu Easwaran could follow Gill and Rahul’s lead by making his Test debut in Australia.