Jasprit Bumrah to captain India vs England in 5th Edgbaston Test after Rohit Sharma fails to recover from Covid on time

Jasprit Bumrah has been named India's 36th Test captain and will lead the team against England for the rescheduled 5th Test at Edgbaston starting Friday after it was confirmed that regular skipper Rohit Sharma will not be taking part in the match.

Jasprit Bumrah has been named India's 36th Test captain and will lead the team against England for the rescheduled 5th Test at Edgbaston starting Friday after it was confirmed that regular skipper Rohit Sharma will not be taking part in the match. The suspense surrounding India's captain for the series-deciding Test starting Friday finally ended when the BCCI made the announcement on Twitter, and Bumrah walked out to address the pre-match press conference for India in Birmingham. "The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mr. Jasprit Bumrah as captain for the upcoming Test and Mr. Rishabh Pant as his deputy," it said in a release.

Jasprit Bumrah was named India's 36th Test captain.  (Getty)

As for Rohit's status, the BCCI announced that the batter returned another positive result after undergoing an RAT-Test Thursday morning. This paved the way for Bumrah to become India's fifth captain in the last six months, after Rohit, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant all took turns across various series both at home and abroad.

This will be Bumrah's first run as captain at any level as he becomes the first fast bowler to lead India after the legendary Kapil Dev, whose last match as captain also happened to be against England in 1987. Bumrah also becomes the second captain of the ongoing Test series after Virat Kohli captained in the first four matches last year, during which India took a 2-1 lead in the series.

Like Rohit, Bumrah had been outstanding for India in the series, picking up 18 wickets including a best of 5/64 at Nottingham which ended in a draw. Besides, Bumrah registered figures of 4/46 at Trent Bridge, 3/33 at Lord's (when he also hit an unbeaten 48) and 2/67 and 2/27 at the Oval.

It was during the South Africa ODIs last year that Bumrah was officially handed a leadership role when he was appointed vice-captain of the series, deputy to KL Rahul. Later, during the home series against Sri Lanka in March, when Bumrah was named the Test vice-captain. Back then, Bumrah had stated that he won't shy away captaining the side if given a chance and what bigger opportunity to lead the team than the series-deciding Test starting tomorrow, in which a win will give India their first Test series win in England since 2007.

While Bumrah's appointment as captain ends one mystery, the lid is yet to be lifted off another – and that is the opener who will partner Shubman Gill. Mayank Agarwal was flown in as cover for Covid-hit Rohit, but head coach Rahul Dravid on Wednesday mentioned that it could well be a three-way fight for the slot, with KS Bharat and Cheteshwar Pujara also being potential contenders.

While England have announced their Playing XI, Dravid said he is not at liberty to disclose India's XI. On the eve of the match, Bumrah and Dravid were seen inspecting the pitch closely and would hopefully have a better idea of the composition of the team.