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The Indian Test team is going through a transition period with a no. of senior players in their thirties. At such an important point, it needs to be seen who becomes India’s next Test captain after Rohit Sharma.
Currently, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are believed to be the contenders for this role. While Kohli has led India in the past, Bumrah is the vice-captain of the team currently. Cricket greats like Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan. they shared their views on this topic.
While Gilchrist backed Kohli to return as India’s captain, Vaughan had different views and called for Bumrah to take up the role of India’s Test captaincy. However, Rohit Sharma is yet to quit the format and remains India’s official Test captain.
Read also: Virat Kohli’s retirement threat sent to BCCI and Indian Cricket in Australia
Adam Gilchrist backs Virat Kohli for India’s next Test captaincy
Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast, Adam Gilchrist expressed his doubts about Jasprit Bumrah’s injury problems and feels that Kohli would be better suited for the role. Bumrah has a history of injuries and his unavailability can affect India in crucial match situations.
“I don’t know if (Jasprit) Bumrah should be full-time captain. I think that might be a bit difficult for him. So who can be the next captain is anyone’s guess, really, if they go back to Virat. (Kohli ) I wouldn’t be surprised if he wouldn’t mind doing that,” Gilchrist said.
Jasprit Bumrah stepped in as India’s captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was dropped for the fifth Test in Sydney due to poor form. However, Bumrah had to leave the field midway after suffering back spasms.
Virat Kohli led India in Bumrah’s absence in the second innings of the match. The men in blue lost their first quick and eventually lost the match by 6 wickets in the end to concede the series 1-3 to the hosts.
Michael Vaughan supports Jasprit Bumrah
While Adam Gilchrist backed Virat Kohli, Michael Vaughan feels India must name Jasprit Bumrah as their next Test captain. According to Vaughan, India were at their best under Bumrah in the Perth Test and even claimed that they would have won if Bumrah had been available in the last innings in Sydney.
“I would give the captain’s seat to Jasprit Bumrah, and the reason is that the two performances that India had at their best in Australia were Perth (first Test) and the SCG (fifth Test). What if not had he been injured (in Sydney), I honestly think they would have won that game,” Vaughan noted.
Vaughan also called India to groom Shubman Gill as India’s vice-captain so that he could be groomed for the leadership role. However, Gill’s performances in red-ball cricket have been on the decline over the past few years.
Virat Kohli’s record as India’s Test captain
Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test captain after leading the team in 40 out of 68 matches. India’s win percentage under his leadership is an impressive 58.82%. Under his captaincy, India won the historic Test series against Australia in 2018 and became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia.
However, he relinquished the leadership role in January 2022 to Rohit Sharma. Kohli has gone through a bad patch of form recently in Tests. He scored just 190 runs in five Tests at an average of just 23.75 in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India will now play a Test match after a long gap in June and July 2025 when they travel to England as the first assignment of the next WTC cycle. The Virat Kohli vs Jasprit Bumrah debate could continue till then.
