Bumrah to Captain India if Rohit Sharma Misses First Test Against Australia: Gambhir
Mumbai : Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that if regular captain Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the highly anticipated first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will lead the national men’s team.
The opening match of the series is set to begin on November 22 in Perth. During a press conference on Monday before departing from Mumbai to Australia, Gambhir said, “Bumrah is the vice-captain; if Rohit is unavailable, he will captain in Perth.”
While Rohit Sharma is not currently with the team, he has not been officially ruled out for the first match of the series.
Updating on Rohit’s status, Gambhir said, “There’s no confirmation yet, but we’ll keep you informed about the situation. Hopefully, he’ll be available, but we’ll know everything as the series begins.”
Gambhir’s announcement sheds light on the team’s contingency plans as they prepare to face Australia, with Bumrah ready to step into the leadership role if needed. Following a disappointing loss to New Zealand on home turf, India’s path to the World Test Championship (WTC) final has become challenging.
After their 3-0 series win, India needs a 4-0 sweep in Australia to secure their spot in the WTC final for a third consecutive time. Following the first Test in Perth, the second match, a day-night game, will be played from December 6-10 under lights at the Adelaide Oval. Fans can then look forward to the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane from December 14-18, followed by the traditional Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26-30. The fifth and final Test will take place from January 3-7 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (Vice-Captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia’s squad for the First Test: Pat Cummins (Captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.