File photo of Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar
As the new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary steps into the shoes vacated by Jay Shah, the hunt for Rohit Sharma‘s long-term captaincy successor has begun. Rohit reportedly came close to hanging his boots in the Test format during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia but was made to change his mind by some ‘well-wishers’. Rohit even claimed in an interview during the Sydney Test that he has no retirement plans at present, but Saturday’s BCCI meeting with chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir has painted a different picture.
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, there isn’t absolute agreement over Jasprit Bumrah‘s name as India’s next Test captain. When it comes to 5-match Test assignments, Bumrah’s workload does become an issue and the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar series is an example.
Bumrah had to sit out half of the 5th Test in Sydney due to a back issue. If he gets India’s full-time Test captaincy, such issues could prove to be detrimental. While there’s no denying that Bumrah is the best candidate to fill in the void that would be created by Rohit’s exit, the board and selectors also want a solid Plan B for cases where Bumrah isn’t available.
The BCCI and selectors want to groom another strong captaincy candidate, who will be officially named the team’s vice-captain. The player would lead the team in Bumrah’s absence. The two names that have been floated are Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
While Pant has been fully backed by the selectors, the report in Hindi daily has claimed that Gambhir may be favouring Jaiswal for the role. The India head coach, hence, could be standing at the opposite end of the table on the topic, in comparison to the national selectors.
The BCCI, however, isn’t keen to make any changes till the conclusion of the Champions Trophy in order to avoid a negative affect on the team. However, some big alterations are expected to take place after the ICC event.
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