NEW DELHI: India coach Gautam Gambhir has flown home from Australia for “personal reasons” but will rejoin the team in time for the second Test in Adelaide next week, a source told AFP Tuesday.

The tourists under stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs on Monday to lead the five-match series 1-0.

India play a two-day tour match this weekend and Gambhir will miss the game in Canberra against a Prime Minister’s XI.

“He has left Australia but will be back soon before the second Test,” the Indian cricket source said.

The second Test, a day-night match, begins Dec 6. India skipper Rohit Sharma will be back for the pink-ball Test after he missed the opening match due to the birth of his second child.

The big Perth win was a stunning turnaround for an Indian team which arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2024