India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has returned to his homeland from Australia due to personal reasons, Indian media reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, Gambhir flew back amid the ongoing Test tour due to a family emergency and will rejoin the squad two days ahead of the second Test of the five-match series, scheduled to commence on December 6 at the Adelaide Oval.
“Yes, Gambhir has left for back home in India due to a personal emergency. It seems that someone in his family has a health issue. However, he will be back in Australia on December 3, three days before the second Test (pink ball) Test at Adelaide,” Indian media quoted a source close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
In Gambhir’s absence, the support staff of assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar, Rayan ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel (bowling coach), and T Dillip (fielding coach) will be in charge of the team.
Meanwhile, the touring side, who lead the series 1-0, got a major boost ahead of the upcoming fixture as their regular captain Rohit Sharma, who missed the opener in Perth due to the birth of his child, had rejoined the squad on Sunday.
The visitors are scheduled to depart for Canberra on Wednesday for the Pink Test.
India’s squad for Australia Tests:
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
- Gautam Gambhir
