With doubts hanging over Rohit Sharma’s Test career, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could soon be searching for India’s next full-time Test captain. Rohit’s current deputy Jasprit Bumrah might appear as the obvious candidate, but captaincy may further increase the mental and physical workload of India’s prime asset and bowling spearhead.
In that scenario, is there any chance of BCCI going back to Kohli? Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist feels it can happen, despite Kohli not being at the peak of his game for quite some time.
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“I don’t know whether Bumrah should be full-time captain. I reckon that might get a little bit challenging for him. So, who that next captain may be is anyone’s guess, really, whether they go back to Virat. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wouldn’t mind doing it,” Gilchrist said while talking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast.
Virat has led India in 68 Tests and has been the country’s most successful captain in red-ball cricket, winning 40 of those matches and losing 17 for a win percentage of 58.82. The remaining 11 Tests ended as drawn affairs.
He stepped down as Test captain in January 2022 and has been going through a tough time as a batter for the last few years. In the just-concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, he scored just 190 runs in 9 innings, which included a century (100 not out) in the second innings of the Perth Test.
Accompanying Gilchrist on the show was former England captain Michael Vaughan, who didn’t agree with the Australian and picked Bumrah to replace Rohit as full-time Test captain.
Bumrah led India in two of three Tests on the recently-concluded tour of Australia, winning the one in Perth and losing the other in Sydney.
He led by example with a five-wicket spell that turned the match around in Perth. In Sydney, he suffered back spasms and couldn’t bowl during Australia’s run-chase in the fourth innings.
“I would give the captain seat to Jasprit Bumrah, and the reason is the two performances that India were at their finest in Australia were Perth (first Test) and the SCG (fifth Test). And if he had not been injured (in Sydney), I honestly think they would have won that game,” said Vaughan.
Vaughan also suggested that India should look at grooming Shubman Gill as a future captain.
“I’d have someone like Shubman Gill as the vice-captain,” he said.
India’s next Test assignment is still five months away, when they will tour England for a five-match series in June-July.
