‘Automatic Captaincy Choice’: Former India Player Backs Jasprit Bumrah for Leadership Ahead of India’s Test Tour of England
Amidst the reports indicating that Shubman Gill might be selected as the next Test captain of India, former batter Wasim Jaffer has hailed the prime pacer Jasprit Bumrah as an “automatic captaincy choice” ahead of their England tour.
The sudden Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have left the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a pickle. They need to finalise a Test captain for their five-match red-ball series from June 20.
Wasim Jaffer Elects Jasprit Bumrah as the India Test Captain
The former player recently shared his take on the Test captaincy on X (formerly Twitter). According to him, BCCI should hand over the leadership to Bumrah, based on his experience in the longest cricketing format. Besides, they could appoint youngster Gill as the vice-captain, who could take up the responsibilities in the pacer’s absence.
“I think Bumrah is an automatic captaincy choice, unless he doesn’t want the responsibility. He should be the captain with Gill as VC – stepping in whenever Bumrah needs rest. This way Gill could also be groomed without the pressure of being the full time captain,” – wrote the former player.
This would help Bumrah to manage his workload, and Gill could also shape up his leadership skills without any sudden captaincy pressure.
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Bumrah in Tests
After making his Test debut in 2018, the 31-year-old has scalped 205 wickets in just 45 matches. Bumrah also has 13 fifers to his name.
The ace pacer performed exceptionally well in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series on Australian soil. Though the team suffered a 3-1 loss to the hosts, the Player of the Series bagged a total of 32 wickets in nine innings. India’s only win in that series came under Bumrah’s leadership. They won the first match in Perth by a massive 295-run margin.
Later, Bumrah was ruled out in the second innings of the final match after sustaining a back injury. This refrained him from participating in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign and the initial matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. But, he has returned to action for his IPL franchise, Mumbai Indians, and is set to feature in India’s squad for the Test tour to England.
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