Sunil Gavaskar overlooks Shubman Gill, backs THIS star as Rohit Sharma’s successor for Test Captaincy
Gavaskar picks Rohit’s Test captain successor, snubs Gill
Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket has posed a major question for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee.
The panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, now has the task of selecting both the captain and vice-captain for the national Test team, especially after Jasprit Bumrah has ruled himself out of the captaincy race.
Bumrah was initially considered the front-runner to succeed Rohit, but his injury history has led the board to explore other options. According to several reports, Shubman Gill is currently the top contender to lead the team. However, former India great Sunil Gavaskar still believes Bumrah should be handed the baton.
“Who better to know what is the workload 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’. To me, it has to be Jasprit Bumrah only.” Gavaskar said on Sports Today
“I know all these kind of speculation going around his workload and all that. 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,” Gavaskar added
During the Border-Gavskar Trophy in 2024-2025, Jasprit Bumrah-led the team to their only victory against Australia but, later he got injured in the fifth match of the series which also led to his unavailability in the Champions Trophy this year.
“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. 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.
With the five-match Test series scheduled against England in June, the BCCI will be looking to announce the Test capatin in the coming week or so.