Jaspreet Bumrah vs. Shubman Gill: BCCI sent the correct solution to test Captain’s debate

Amid the debate on who should be appointed as India’s new Test captain, former opener Wasim Jafar said that Shubman Gill should lead the Test team on the upcoming tour of England, whenever the ‘Automatic Choice’ Jasprit Bumrah needs rest. Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from tests earlier this month, Gill has been widely seen as a front-colon to lead a new Indian Test team in a five-match series in England, which began in Headingly on 20 June. India did not win a test series in England after the 2007 tour, where they won 1–0 under the leadership of Rahul Dravid.

“I think Bumrah likes an automatic captaincy, unless he wants the responsibility. He should be a captain with Gill, whenever Bumrah needs rest.

I think Bumrah is an automatic captaincy option, until he wants responsibility. He must be captain with Gill, as VC – whenever Bumrah needs to rest. In this way Gill can also be prepared without pressure to be a full -time captain. #ENGVIND

– Wasim Jafar (@Wasimjifer 14) May 16, 2025

Apart from Gill, who is currently the captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2025 and Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are also in the race to become the next Test captain of India. Bumrah captained India in three tests, and when he won the Perth Test in the last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, he was on the hull.

But his fitness issues mean that Bumrah is not yet a certainty to play all five tests on England tour. During the final test of the Australia Tour at Sydney Cricket Ground, Bumrah faced a back injury and did not bowl at all in the second innings.

As a result of the back injury that previously required an operation in early 2023, Bumra recalled India’s winning 2025 Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai. Meanwhile, Rahul led India in three tests, including a 2–0 series of winning in Bangladesh in December 2022. India is also scheduled to play Tests against England in Edgbaston (2–6 July), Lord’s (July 10–14), Old Trafford (July 23–27) and Oval (31 July to 4 August 4).

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