Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh welcomed their second child, a baby boy, on Friday night, according to reports. The couple are yet to officially announce it.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2015, welcomed their first child, Samaira, in 2018.
The pair had managed to keep the pregnancy a secret until cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle made a remark early November during the Test match between India and New Zealand. "Plenty of word around Rohit Sharma going into the tour of Australia. He might miss the first Test, hearing that there might be a new addition in his family," Bhogle said.
Sharma took paternity leave to be with his wife during the final stages of her pregnancy. Social media was filled with congratulatory wishes for the couple, and have crowned the baby “Junior Hitman”, taking after his father who is dubbed “Hitman” by his fans.
Sharma was reportedly going to miss the first Test match against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but since it is scheduled for November 22, fans speculate that the captain may be able to make it now.
Sunil Gavaskar's controversial comment
During an interview with Sports Tak earlier this week, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar said that Sharma should be stripped of his captaincy if he does not play the first Test in Perth. “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,” he said.
Former Australia cricketer Aaron Finch, however, came out in support of the Indian team captain. “If you need to stay at home because your wife's going to have a baby, that's such a beautiful moment and you take all the time that you need in that regard," Finch said on Around the Wicket show on ESPN.
Sajdeh reacted to the excerpt of the interview on social media by posting a salute emoji and tagging the Australian player in the comments.