Former India cricketers prefer Jasprit Bumrah over Shubman Gill as new skipper

Even as Shubman Gill, 25, seems to be the frontrunner for India’s Test captaincy, following the retirement of Rohit Sharma, a number of former players believe it’s the experience factor that will hold India in good stead rather than young blood, and for this reason, Jasprit Bumrah, 31, is their man of choice.  

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes Gill should lead the Test team in England only when Bumrah needs rest. 

“I think Bumrah is an automatic captaincy choice, unless he doesn’t want the responsibility. He should be the captain with Gill as vice-captain, stepping in whenever Bumrah needs rest. This way Gill could also be groomed without the pressure of being the full time captain,” Jaffer wrote on X on Friday.

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India batting great Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to Sports Today, also threw his weight behind Bumrah: “If you appoint somebody else, they would always want an extra over from Bumrah. If he is your No. 1 bowler, he will himself know that ‘yes, this is the time I must take a break.’ To me, it has to be Bumrah only.”

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar actually expressed his shock to learn that Bumrah was not the frontrunner in the Test captaincy race. 

“I am shocked that we are looking at any other option other than Bumrah as Test captain! Worried about his injuries? Then choose your vice-captain carefully,” 
Manjrekar wrote on X.

Interestingly, legendary India off-spinner R Ashwin went a step ahead to even suggest all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the second option to lead, after Bumrah. “First of all, everyone is saying that Gill is the captain, but there is a loud option in Jasprit Bumrah. And why do we forget about Ravindra Jadeja? If you’re willing to go for a new person as captain, then I would say why not make him [Gill] the understudy of an experienced guy for two years before handing him the job on a full-time basis,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

This article first appeared on Mid Day