Yashasvi Jaiswal being groomed as India's next Test captain; Bumrah's fitness, Shubman Gill's form a concern: Report
BCCI are considering Yashasvi Jaiswal as India's next Test captain. Shubman Gill frontrunner to take over the ODI team after Rohit Sharma quits.
With Rohit Sharma not getting any younger and his form in Test cricketing being indifferent, the BCCI has started to look at the future by grooming the next leadership group for Team India. It's not as easy as it appears. India have been one of those rare teams which has refrained from having different captains in different formats, officially. Although, due to the rigorous scheduling, India have had multiple captains in the last few years, he never lost his place as the designated captain. Things, however, might be different going ahead.

Rohit has retired from T20Is, and since then, the team has appeared to be settling nicely under new captain Suryakumar Yadav. The same, however, cannot be said about the other formats. BCCI reportedly are keen on giving the ODI mantle to Shubman Gill, who has been elevated as the vice-captain for the three-match ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy. The right-handed opener has found a lot of success at the top of the order and is a future investment as far as captaincy is concerned. He has already led his state team, Punjab, in the Ranji Trophy and was officially named the captain of the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans last year.
Gill might face some competition from his GT predecessor Hardik Pandya. "There have also been some discussions around Hardik Pandya being given the responsibility, given his experience," said a Times of India report. Hardik was India's T20I captain between 2022 and 2024 but he lost out to Suryakumar Yadav because of his dubious fitness. New India head coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly wanted a captain who has a better chance of playing all the matches.
The selectors' toughest task is to choose a Test captain. Rohit hinted at playing in the England series, but much will depend on his and India's performance in the Champions Trophy.
On performance, there is no one close to Jasprit Bumrah in taking over as the Test captain, but his workload management may go for a toss if he is made the captain. Considering the nature of Bumrah's action and his immense value as a bowler, the BCCI might not be that keen on handing over the captaincy duties to him. In that case, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant can emerge as possible captaincy candidates as Gill is yet to replicate his white-ball into Test cricket.
Jaiswal and Pant are prolific scorers in red-ball cricket. Pant in fact has led India in T20Is and has experience of captaining in the IPL. The same cannot be said about Jaiswal, who relatively new to international cricket but if sources are to be believed then the left-handed opener has already done enough to be groomed as a leader as the selectors don't want to select a captain but instead want to elevate based on performance.
"Bumrah’s chances of a long Test series or completing a full season will always be in doubt. The selectors may want a more stable option. Gill has been seen as a captaincy prospect but his returns in Test cricket have been average. Rishabh Pant could also be a strong candidate and maybe someone like Yashashvi Jaiswal can be groomed for the role," a source was quoted as saying in the report.
