Explained: Why Jasprit Bumrah hasn't been selected as India's test captain

Jasprit Bumrah has so far captained India in three tests.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Saturday May 24, finally unveiled the new test captain of the Indian Cricket Team. Young Shubman Gill has been given the responsibility and his first assignment itself will be an uphill task as India take on England in a five-match test series. 

Ever since Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from test cricket, there has been a lot of speculation around who will take over the charge of the team in the longest format of the game. With Jasprit Bumrah being vice-captain and leading the team in the absence of Rohit in Australia, it was almost certain that he would take charge. 

But that wasn’t the case as the BCCI’s selection committee went ahead with Shubman Gill, keeping in mind the future of the team. The only thing that didn’t work in Jasprit Bumrah’s favour was his fitness as his injury-prone nature always has been a cause of concern for the Indian team management. 

With Booms, it was more about his workload management – Ajit Agarkar

Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar was bold enough to mention why Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t given the leadership role. During the press conference, he revealed that the fast bowler won’t be available for the entire five-match series against England and the pacer himself is happy to be part of the squad. 

Ajit Agarkar also stated that they had conversations with Jasprit Bumrah and the fast bowler is okay with the decision to name Shubman Gill as skipper. He signed off by saying that workload management was the reason behind the pacer not getting test captaincy. 

“Don’t think he’ll be available for all five Tests. Whether it’s four or three, we’ll see based on how the series goes and his workload is. Even if he’s fit for 3-4 Tests, he’ll be an asset for us. Just happy he’s part of the squad. He’s more important to us as a player.“

“Once you’re managing people, there’s a lot that takes out of you. We’ve had a chat with him, he’s okay with it. He knows Where his body’s at. KL not really, he’s captained a while back, he’s a quality player and hope he has a big series. With Booms, it was more about his workload management,” said Ajit Agarkar. 

Notably, Jasprit Bumrah got injured in the last game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Sydney. After that, he was ruled out of cricketing action for around four months. He missed the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as well and recently made his comeback in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. 

The test series between England and India will kick start on 20th June at the Headingley in Leeds. The series will also start the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).

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