Sunil Gavaskar snubs Shubman Gill; picks this star as new Indian test captain after Rohit Sharma

Shubman Gill is considered the No. 1 candidate to become the new Test captain of India.

After Rohit Sharma‘s retirement, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will have to find a powerful captain for the Indian Cricket Team in the longest format. Sharma announced his retirement from the red-ball format last week. He has been the skipper of the test side since February 2022.

The BCCI’s selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, is expected to nominate a new skipper by the end of this month. Notably, the Indian Cricket Team is set to face England in a five-match test series starting June 20. Hence, BCCI has to form a powerful squad under a new skipper for the England tour.

Interestingly, Jasprit Bumrah has already opted out of the captaincy as he is unsure of playing all five tests against England. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are among the front-runners to be the next test captain for India as of now.

Sunil Gavaskar backs Jasprit Bumrah as new test skipper

Sunil Gavaskar has backed Bumrah to be India’s new Test captain. Notably, BCCI does not want to give captaincy to Bumrah as they are eyeing to play him in only two or three tests during the England test series to manage his workload.

However, Gavaskar pointed out that BCCI should give captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah as the Indian pacer can manage his workload himself when he becomes the captain of the Indian test side.

“Who better to know what the workload is for himself than himself? If you appoint somebody else, they would always want an extra over from Bumrah. If he is your No. 1 bowler, he will himself know that ‘yes, this is the time I must take a break’, Gavaskar wrote in his column for SportsStar.

“To me, it has to be Jasprit Bumrah only. Give it to him so that he knows how many overs to bowl, when to take him off, when to sort of rest. That would be the best thing. He (Bumrah) may not have to miss a Test match. If you give it to him, he might know when to stop before his body starts to crumble. For me, give it to him”, the 75-year-old further added.

Gavaskar also noted that there is enough gap between the five tests between India and England. Hence, the right-arm pacer will get enough time to recover from his workload.

“After the first Test, there is an eight-day gap. There’s enough time to recover. Then, there are two back-to-back Test matches. That’s fine. There’s then another gap. If you give him the captaincy, he will be the best person to know when to bowl,” he added.

Notably, Bumrah also led the Indian team during the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. He led the side in the 1st and the 5th test when Sharma was unavailable. The Indian team also won the opening test in Perth under Bumrah’s captainship. The right-arm pacer won the Player of the Series award in BGT with his impeccable bowling show.

Meanwhile, the India tour of England 2025 will begin with the 1st Test at Headingley on June 20. The tournament will conclude in the first week of August with the 5th and final test at Kennington Oval in London.

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