Ravi Shastri explains why he doesn't want Jasprit Bumrah to become India's next test captain

Jasprit Bumrah has captained India in three test matches so far.

Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from test cricket, the Board of Cricket for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a challenging task of finding a test skipper for the Indian Cricket Team. Sharma led the side in the longest format since February 2022. He pulled down the curtains on his test career on May 7 and will only play in ODIs as a skipper from now.

Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are among the front-runners to lead the national side in the longest format. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah is also a good choice to lead the test side. However, reportedly the right-arm pacer has opted out of captaincy as he is unsure of playing all five tests during the forthcoming test series against England.

India are going to tour England for a five-match test series next month. The first game of the five-match series will commence on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. BCCI will reveal the new test skipper in the forthcoming days when they announce the India squad for the test series against England.

I don’t want Jasprit to be made captain: Ravi Shastri

During a chat with International Cricket Council (ICC) review, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said he doesn’t want Bumrah to be made the India test captain. According to Shastri, making Bumrah captain will affect his bowling.

“See for me, Jasprit would have been the obvious choice after Australia. But I don’t want Jasprit to be made captain and then you lose him as a bowler. I think he (Bumrah) has to take his body one game at a time. He’s coming back now after a serious injury,” Shastri said.

“He’ll have played IPL cricket, which is four-over cricket. Now will come the test of bowling 10 overs, 15 overs. And the last thing you want is some pressure on his mind being captain as well,” he further added.

Bumrah led India in two games in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in the absence of Rohit Sharma. India’s only win in the series came in the first test in Perth, where Bumrah led the side. The pacer also won Player of the Series award for picking most wickets in the series.

Shastri has also backed Gill or Pant as the new test skippers and wants the selectors to groom them as skippers. He also noted that they have good experience of captaincy in Indian Premier League (IPL). Gill is the skipper of Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2025, while Pant is the skipper of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

“You groom somebody and I would say Shubman’s looked very good. Give him the opportunity. He’s 25, 26 years of age, even give him time. There’s Rishabh as well,” the 62-year-old said.

“I think these two are the obvious ones I’m looking at because of their age and they have a decade ahead of them. So, let them learn They’ve got experience as captains now, captaining their franchise and that makes a difference,” he added.

India will commence their journey in ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 with the test series against England. Hence, the new test captain will take the reins of the side in the next WTC cycle. The five-match series will conclude in the first week of August. The fifth test will commence on July 31 at Kennington Oval in London.

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