Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from the five-Test match series against England and soon after his decision, there were reports that Shubman Gill will be his successor to lead the Men in Blue in the longest format of the game. However, fans speculated that legendary speedster Jasprit Bumrah will take over the captaincy role as he was Rohit Sharma's deputy in India's last red-ball assignment in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He also captained the side in two Test matches, where India came victorious in the first clash, the only one India managed to win.
Bumrah, who is currently featuring for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, has reportedly ruled himself out of the race for becoming the next Test captain. According to the report from Sky Sports, the reason why Bumrah has ruled himself out of the captaincy race is that he cannot commit to playing all five Tests during the tour of England due to workload management. Bumrah had also missed the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year after a back injury during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Since the speedster's participation is in doubt for all five matches, the selectors would prefer someone who can play all the matches. This makes Gill and Pant lead the side. Selectors expected to meet next week to discuss about the role. Whoever misses out on the captaincy is expected to be named as the next vice-captain of the side.
The five-Test match series between India and England is scheduled to start from June 20, and a BCCI source close to Sports Tak told that the squad for the upcoming red-ball series against England is likely to be out of May 16 or 17.
India tour of England schedule
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First Test: Friday June 20-Tuesday June 24 - Headingley
Second Test: Wednesday July 2-Sunday July 6 - Edgbaston