Who will replace Rohit Sharma as the New Test Captain Of The Indian Cricket Team?

Top Contenders for Indian Test Cricket Team Captaincy

The selection of India's next Test cricket captain is still on. The key candidates include young leaders like Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, and former stand-in captains Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul. Since each player has unique leadership abilities and strengths, this choice will have a significant impact on India's future.

1. Jasprit Bumrah

The most obvious choice and frontrunner to replace Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian Cricket Team in Test cricket should be Jasprit Bumrah.  Jasprit Bumrah has undeniably been one of the most threatening bowlers in Test cricket for the past year or so and his performance in the Border Gavaskar Trophy warranted his claim as the best in the world.  

In 45 Test matches, Jasprit Bumrah already has 205 Test wickets. Bumrah was the deputy to Rohit Sharma in the previous Border Gavaskar Trophy and India’s only Test win in that series came under the captaincy of Jasprit Bumrah when Rohit Sharma was unavailable due to the birth of his child. 
 

Given Jasprit Bumrah’s credentials in Test Cricket and as a leader he should be the front runner to take over the captaincy baton from Rohit Sharma. However, initial reports since Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement suggests that the selectors are not keen on Jasprit Bumrah as the new Test skipper for India. 

There is a major concern about Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness as the bowler has missed considerable time in the past three years due to injury.  He limped off the field in India’s final Test against Australia in Sydney owing to back swelling and missed the Champions Trophy for India.  Hence, the selectors reportedly don’t want to put too much strain on Jasprit Bumrah and are looking for a younger captain.

2. Shubman Gill 

If the Indian selectors decide to overlook Jasprit Bumrah as the new Test captain then 25-year old superstar batter Shubman Gill emerges as the heavy favourite to take over the role as India’s new Test skipper. Ever since, Shubman Gill’s debut there has been a sense that he’s being groomed to be a future skipper for India in red ball cricket. 

With Rohit Sharma’s retirement and Jasprit Bumrah’s need for load management, Shubman Gill emerges as the top candidate to lead India in the new World Test Championship cycle (2025-2027) starting with the five match Test series against England. 

However, there’s one major chink in Shubman Gill’s armour to be the Test captain for India.  While, the top order batter showed immense promise in his debut series against Australia back in 2020-21 BGT, Gill has failed to replicate his form from that tour of Australia in any of the overseas tour he’s been on the past four years. 

Gill’s Test average at home is 43.50 but his away Test average pales in comparison as it is a mediocre 29.50.  No one can deny the talent Shubman Gill possesses but he might not be the proven commodity to take over as the leader of the Indian red ball side yet especially in overseas conditions. It is interesting to see how the selectors view Gill’s credential and will they decide to name him as the new leader or not. 

3. Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant is also one of the candidates to take over as the leader of the Indian Test side given his experience captaining in the IPL and his prominence as one of the best Test players in India.  However, there are doubts regarding Rishabh Pant on whether he is the same player as he was prior to his life threatening accident. 

With Rishabh Pant he averages at 42.11 and has scored four Test centuries on away soil. He has one of the most consistent performers for India on away turf. Despite having a lean Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Pant did start to find his rhythm towards the end of the series. 

However, given the dearth of choices for India, Rishabh Pant doesn’t seem likely to be handed the Test captaincy especially ahead of Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill. 

4. KL Rahul

KL Rahul is also an interesting candidate to take over as the new Indian Test skipper and worth a discussion. KL Rahul has captaincy credentials extending upto five years in IPL and has also been one of the leaders of India’s Test setups. He was the vice captain to Rohit Sharma till 2022 and has also captained India in a Test match albeit in losing cause. 

KL Rahul has captained India in three Tests and won two of those Test while losing his first Test in South Africa. KL Rahul was also one of Indian’s most consistent batters in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy and was also one of India’s best performers when the last time India visited England.  

While, KL Rahul’s route to become the new Test skipper is unlikely given how the player has distanced himself from leadership since 2023. But if India were to go the KL Rahul route then it won’t feel out of place. 

Indian selectors are facing a dilemma over which player to pick as the new captain post Rohit Sharma’s retirement and chief selector Ajit Agarkar alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir has a tough and very important decision to take entering into the new World Test Championship cycle. 

India will travel to England for a 5-match Test series with the first Test starting from 20th June. Hence any decision, taken by Ajit Agarkar and the selection committee needs to be quick and resolute. 

Virat Kohli’s retirement puts BCCI in a spot of bother

Virat Kohli would have been a great choice for captaining India, at least for a short while, had he not retired. With his record as the former skipper of the team, Kohli was the greatest ever Indian captain.

As India faces the tough challenge of facing England away from home, the experience of Kohli leading the side would have made him a near-perfect choice. While a few fans out there would have thought about making him the captain as a step backward but it could have helped a young captain to learn.

In tough away assessments, Kohli’s passion while leading a fast-bowling unit would be the difference between a win and a loss or a draw more often than his batting. He was an emotional leader and led from the front while wearing his heart on the sleeve. 

As a captain across formats, Virat was the face of India’s generational success in the previous decade. While the ODIs and T20Is stats in spite of being so great look pretty bleak without an ICC trophy, however, in test cricket, Kohli did the unthinkable of winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and did not lose a single home test series. 

Perhaps leading the side for the last time could have proven to be the perfect farewell for the right-handed batter. In his absence, BCCI are now looking at captaincy options among whom, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah are the most experienced with three tests as captain to their name.