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India speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been making headlines since Shubman Gill was appointed as Test captain after Rohit Sharma retired from the longest format of the game. There were speculations among fans that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has done favouritism by picking the Test captain.
Bumrah has led India in two Test matches in Australia during the five-Test match series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. One of them, the Perth Test, which was the only match India managed to win against Australia. After a lot of rumours and speculations, Bumrah himself has explained why he will not be leading the team for the tricky tour of England.
“The BCCI was looking at me for the leadership role, but then I had to say no because it’s not fair for the team as well that, you know, in a five-Test series, for three matches somebody else is leading and for two matches somebody else is leading. It’s not fair on the team and I always wanted to put the team first… I called the BCCI and said I don’t want to be looked at in a leadership role because I won’t be able to play in all Test matches coming into a five-Test match series,” Bumrah told former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik in an interview for Sky Sports Cricket.
Bumrah further added that before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's Test retirements during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, he had a conversation with BCCI where he discussed about his workload for the England series.
“There’s no fancy stories to it (him not being named India Test captain). There is no controversy. No headline statements that I was sacked or I was not looked after. Before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired, during the IPL, I had spoken to BCCI that I have discussed about my workloads going forward in a five-Test series. I had spoken to the people who have managed my back. I’ve spoken to the surgeon as well who’s always spoken to me about how smart I have to be about the workloads. So I did speak to him and then we came to a conclusion that I have to be a little more smart.”
But Bumrah did end up adding: “Captaincy meant a lot. I had worked very hard for it but unfortunately sometimes you have to look after the bigger picture. I love cricket more than captaincy. So I want to contribute more as a cricketer and player to the Indian team.”
Bumrah's last international outing came in Australia during the BGT, where Australia defeated India 3-1, and he ended his campaign as the highest wicket-taker with 32 scalps in five Tests.
In the upcoming Test series against England, Bumrah is not expected to feature in all five Tests, with chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir confirming his participation will be managed as part of a workload strategy.
India squad for England series
Shubman Gill(C), Rishabh Pant(vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Parishdh Krishna, Akashdeep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
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