Shubman Gill is in line to become the next India captain after the retirement of Rohit Sharma, said a top Indian Cricket Board official on Saturday, May 11. Rohit Sharma, India’s former all-format captain, has retired from the T20I and the Test format in the last 12 months. News agency PTI reported that Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant have been earmarked as the next leaders in the team.
Jasprit Bumrah, who has led the Indian Test team in England and Australia, does not seem to be the automatic choice for either position due to his fitness record in the last few years. Bumrah, who plays all formats for India, was recently injured in the final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which sidelined him for three months. In that period, Bumrah missed the white-ball series against England, the Champions Trophy, and the first couple of weeks of the Indian Premier League.
The BCCI official, under the condition of anonymity, also said that since Bumrah was not the captain, there was no point in making him the vice-captain as well.
The rationale behind making Rishabh Pant the vice-captain of the side seems to be his record in overseas conditions. An average of 42-plus with hundreds in Australia, England and South Africa, along with seven scores between 90 and 99, makes Pant one of the best batters in the format.
BCCI MUM ON VIRAT KOHLI RETIREMENT
The BCCI also remained tight-lipped on Virat Kohli’s possible retirement from Test cricket. PTI has learnt that the selection committee did ponder over the idea of handing over leadership to him in England to allow Gill some more time to groom.
As of now, Kohli has not made any official announcement and it is believed that he will be requested to compete in the upcoming five-Test series in England as his experience will be required in challenging conditions, especially in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who retired on May 7.
PTI reached out to chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia for a comment on Virat Kohli, but they are yet to respond to the query.
“It is true that selectors did think about having Kohli as India skipper for the England series. This would have given Gill some time to grow into the leadership role but at 25-and-a-half years of age, he is yet to hit his peak. Due to Bumrah’s fitness issues, Gill looks like the obvious choice for Ajit Agarkar’s committee,” a BCCI source privy to the development said.
It is understood that KL Rahul isn’t being considered as an option as he is already 33-plus and consistency has been an issue with the Bengaluru player, even though he was one of the better performers in Australia. Rahul has previously been the captain of India in the Test format.
The Indian team for the tour of England will be announced during the end of the third week of May, while the India A team will be announced early next week.
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