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After Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket, young top-order batter Shubman Gill is being looked at as the next Test skipper. There are concerns over Jasprit Bumrah's fitness who led India in two Tests on Australian soil which have worked against him getting the leading role for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. However, legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has backed Bumrah to be captain. Gavaskar's reasoning is that the new captain will always an extra over from Bumrah but if the pacer is leading, he would know when to take a break. Gavaskar isn't worried about Bumrah's workload which was considered one of the reasons behind his injury in Sydney Test earlier this year.
"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. 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 told Sports Today.
"He (Bumrah) may not have to miss a Test match. If you give it 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.
Bumrah's return, Shastri wants team management to exercise caution
Bumrah missed the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to injury. Since his return, he has claimed 13 wickets from eight games for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 which is set to resume next week.
While Gavaskar wants Bumrah to lead, former head coach Ravi Shastri who has worked with the current world no.1 Test bowler, said that he shouldn't play all Tests on England tour.
"I would be very, very careful [with Bumrah]," Shastri said while speaking in The ICC Review.
"I would give him two Test matches at a time and then wait for the break. Ideally, make him play four. You'll be tempted to make him play five if he starts off in a great manner, but it's how his body pulls up. He should be given the first opportunity to say, 'Yes, a little, [I am] feeling the niggle. A break would help.' Give him that break."
After Virat Kohli and Rohit's Test retirement, India are expected to announce the squad for the England tour in next few days which will end speculations around next Test captain.
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