'Bumrah was the vice-captain in Australia, but...': Ajit Agarkar on BCCI's decision to pick Shubman Gill over Jasprit to lead India in Tests

Young batter Shubman Gill has been appointed as India's Test captain after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

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Ajit Agarkar with Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Yashasvi Jaiswal

Ajit Agarkar with Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and Yashasvi Jaiswal

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Shubman Gill has been appointed as India's Test captain.

Rishabh Pant will be Shubman Gill's deputy in India vs England Test series.

India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained why the management picked Shubman Gill over Jasprit Bumrah to lead the team in the longest format of the game. Bumrah, who was Rohit Sharma's deputy in India's last Test assignment during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia, has been ignored as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Rohit's successor ahead of the upcoming five-Test match series against England. 

Agarkar acknowledged that Bumrah was the vice-captain in Australia, but since he was unable to feature in all five Tests, they wanted him fit. The board had a chat with the legendary speedster, and he is okay with the decision to appoint Gill as the new skipper. 

"Bumrah was the vice-captain in Australia, but since he was not available for all five [Tests then], we wanted him fit...," Agarkar said. "We'd rather have him bowling as well as he does than put extra burden on him. We had a chat with him and he's okay with it. It was to do with his workload maangement and about having him fit as a player."

The five-Test match series between India and England is scheduled to start from June 20, and this will be the team's first assignment after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Bumrah, who was Rohit's deputy in Australia, also captained India in the first Test, which was the only Test India won. 

ALSO READ: 'Virat reached out early April and...': Ajit Agarkar's massive revelation on Kohli's Test retirement ahead of India vs England Test series

ALSO READ: Suspense ends over captaincy as BCCI announces India's squad for five-Test match series against England
 

India vs England five-Test match schedule

India vs England five-match Test series full schedule
Test Date Venue City Time
1st 20th June Headingley Leeds 3:30 PM IST
2nd 2nd July Lord's cricket ground London 3:30 PM IST
3rd 10th July Emirates Old Trafford Manchester 3:30 PM IST
4th 23rd July Edgbaston Birmingham 3:30 PM IST
5th 31st July Kennington Oval London 3:30 PM IST

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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