Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul were the four candidates in line to take over from Rohit Sharma as the India cricket team’s Test captain. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) thought hard and long about it. In the end, they decided that Gill was the most suitable candidate.
Pant was named Gill’s deputy. Rahul and Bumrah, who are the most senior players among the four, received no leadership position. But what was BCCI’s reasoning behind looking past them both, especially considering that Rohit and Virat Kohli won’t be part of the team in England?
Why Bumrah & KL Rahul weren’t considered
Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar has answered his question. Bumrah was the main contender. He was captain in Sydney, the last Test India played. So, why was Gill preferred over him? Reports suggested that the BCCI wasn’t sure the pacer’s body would hold up across 5 Test matches. And Agarkar has confirmed that.
“Don’t think he’ll be available for all five Tests. Whether it’s four or three, we’ll see based on how the series goes and his workload is. Even if he’s fit for 3-4 Tests, he’ll be an asset for us. Just happy he’s part of the squad. He’s more important to us as a player,” Agarkar told reporters.
The former Indian all-rounder stated that Bumrah was told of this concern, and he’s alright not being named Test captain. As for Rahul, from what Agarkar said, it seemed like he was never in the scheme of things this time around despite leading the team in South Africa in Rohit’s absence.
“Once you’re managing people, there’s a lot that takes out of you. We’ve had a chat with him; he’s okay with it. He knows where his body’s at. KL not really; he’s captained a while back; he’s a quality player, and I hope he has a big series. With Booms, it was more about his workload management,” Agarkar added.
India Test squad for England
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal. KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
