Jasprit Bumrah Omitted as Shubman Gill Takes the Helm as India’s New Test Captain

India has officially moved into a new chapter for their Test squad, with Shubman Gill appointed as the new captain following Rohit Sharma’s retirement.

Sharma stepped away from red-ball cricket in May after a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, joining Virat Kohli, who has also recently announced his retirement.

Although Jasprit Bumrah served as Sharma’s vice-captain and led the team during the series, he has not been selected to continue in that role.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, Bumrah’s exclusion is primarily due to the likelihood of him missing games as part of workload management.

Although Gill has previously captained the Indian T20 side, he has yet to lead in ODIs or Test matches.

This development marks a remarkable shift for the 25-year-old.

His exclusion from the Boxing Day Test during the Australian series was notable, as he had missed the first Test in Perth due to injury and only managed scores of 31 and 28 in Adelaide.

He registered a mere 1 run at the Gabba.

During the Boxing Day Test, India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar mentioned that Gill was “unfortunate”.

“I wouldn’t categorise it as being dropped; it is just unfortunate that he couldn’t secure a spot in the team,” he explained.

Since his debut in Melbourne in 2020, Gill has been considered a future star.

He holds a Test batting average of 35.05.

Rishabh Pant is set to take on the role of vice-captain for the team.

India’s five-Test series against England is slated to commence on June 20.