India's regular captain Rohit Sharma is currently recuperating from COVID-19 and faces a race against time to be fit for the deciding Test match against England in Birmingham. With uncertainty over whether Rohit Sharma will play at Edgbaston or not, speculation continues to spread like wildfire over who would take over Team India's leadership role. KL Rahul, who was named Rohit Sharma's deputy before India arrived in the United Kingdom was sidelined due to a groin injury. In the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, several names are doing the rounds, including those of wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant, senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. While Rishabh Pant captained the national team in a home T20I series against South Africa earlier this month, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin are seasoned campaigners. With Jasprit Bumrah showing his calmness in tense moments during games previously, he is considered the frontrunner to captain India in Birmingham. The first name backing him to take over the mantle of captaincy is former Team India pacer, Mohit Sharma.
Comparing Jasprit Bumrah to Kapil Dev, Mohit Sharma said that if the Haryana Hurricane could captain the side and guide them to their maiden World Cup triumph in 1983, Jasprit Bumrah may inspire the Indian team to a series victory in England.
India currently lead the five-match series 2-1 and if they manage to beat the hosts in the final game at Edgbaston it would be their first series win on English soil in 15 years. India last defeated England in a Test series at their home in 2007.
“I don't know how well you know Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) but I know him very well. We played a lot of cricket together. He is a very cool and calm character,” Mohit Sharma told news agency ANI.
“On the field, he bowls aggressively but off the field, he is very calm and if he becomes a captain then the taboo of fast bowlers can't become captain will not be there,” he added.
“Paaji (Kapil Dev) did for India if you look at other countries Pat Cummins has led Australia. So, if Bumrah becomes captain then it would be great for India,” Mohit Sharma mentioned.
Earlier, Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria declared that if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) elevated Jasprit Bumrah to the captaincy, it could hamper his bowling.
If he's allowed to lead the Indian team, Jasprit Bumrah would have to focus on a different job altogether and may not get the time to think about how to execute his plans against the England batters.
“BCCI has indicated that Pant, Bumrah, or Ashwin could be given the captaincy if Rohit isn't available. Bumrah shouldn't be given the load of captaincy and he should rather concentrate on his bowling. I wouldn't want him to lead the side,” Danish Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.
Instead of Jasprit Bumrah, Danish Kaneria has urged the Indian team management, including head coach Rahul Dravid to reappoint Virat Kohli as the captain of the national Test team.
“Rishabh Pant is not mature enough to be captain. He got a chance to lead the side in the South Africa series but did a horrible job. Captaincy also tends to take a toll on his batting. I feel that he shouldn't be the captain anymore,” Danish Kaneria stated.
“I'm surprised that Kohli's name isn't being suggested. Pant and Bumrah are in the race to lead the team in Edgbaston. Pujara has been playing in England for so long. He also can lead the team if Rohit isn't available. The best option for India is to give the captaincy to Kohli. He can return if India doesn't find any other option. But I am hopeful that Rohit will be leading the team in the fifth Test,” Danish Kaneria opined.
Even former England spinner Graeme Swann liked the idea of Virat Kohli leading the Indian team in the final Test.
“You could say why not let Virat Kohli finish off the things he started and sort of have a final hoorah. Whether Virat would want to do that, I don't know. I don’t think England will really mind. Maybe, if you think about Ben Stokes… He would quite like Virat Kohli to be captain then he could directly compare to how Joe Root’s team played against Virat Kohli's,” Graeme Swann said in an interaction organized by Sony Sports Network ahead of the fifth Test against England.
India Squad for Fifth Test: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Srikar Bharat (wk)
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