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Key Points

Ashwin believes Bumrah is the ideal candidate to lead India in Tests after Rohit and Kohli's sudden retirements. He admits their departures create a leadership void ahead of the England tour. While acknowledging Bumrah's credentials, Ashwin stresses selectors must consider workload management. The veteran spinner suggests Rohit could have extended his career to ease the transition.

Key Points: Ashwin Backs Bumrah as Rohit Sharma's Test Captain Successor

  • Ashwin surprised by Rohit-Kohli joint Test retirement
  • Calls it start of Gambhir era
  • Bumrah led India in Rohit's absence
  • Experience vacuum concerns for England tour
2 min read

Bumrah deserves captaincy: Ashwin's clear-cut take on Rohit Sharma's successor in Test format

Ravichandran Ashwin supports Jasprit Bumrah for Test captaincy after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirements, citing his seniority and leadership.

"Bumrah deserves the captaincy, but selectors will decide based on his physical capacity – Ravichandran Ashwin"

New Delhi, May 13

Decorated off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has rooted for Jasprit Bumrah to take the captaincy mantle after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's sudden Test retirements left a leadership vacuum in India's red-ball setup.

Rohit bid adieu to Test cricket last Wednesday, and a couple of days later, Virat bid his farewell to the format with a heartfelt note on Instagram. Ashwin, who had no clue about India's batting bigwigs' intentions to retire together, feels "testing time" lies ahead for Indian cricket, and their decision "truly" marks the beginning of the 'Gautam Gambhir' era.

"I didn't have an idea that both [Rohit and Kohli] would retire together. This will be a testing time for Indian cricket, and I'll say this is truly now the beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era," Ashwin said on his YouTube show 'Ash Ki Baat'.

If the recent reports are to be believed, Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to take on the captaincy tag despite Bumrah serving as former skipper Rohit's deputy in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He served as the stand-in captain in Perth and led the side when Rohit opted out in the final Test in Sydney.

"The team that will tour England will be a completely new team, a transformed team where Bumrah will probably be the senior-most player. He is obviously one of the captaincy options; I think he deserves the captaincy, but the selectors will make a decision based on his physical capacity," he said.

Reflecting on Rohit and Virat's decision to retire, Ashwin felt the duo still had enough left in their tank to offer more to Indian cricket. He believes that when India lines up to face England in the five high-stakes Tests from June 20 in Headingley, the inexperienced touring party will miss Virat's energy and Rohit's composure.

"Their retirements will definitely create a leadership vacuum. You can't buy experience, especially on tours like this. Virat's energy and Rohit's composure will be missed," he said.

"Tests has been the finest [format for India] in the last 10-12 years, but just for the sake of leadership, Rohit should've played till the England series, and if he'd performed, he could've carried on and given some more leadership.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

Here are 6 diverse Indian perspective comments for the article:
R
Rajesh K.
Ashwin makes valid points but I disagree about Bumrah as captain. Fast bowlers shouldn't be burdened with captaincy - look at what happened to Kapil Dev's bowling stats after he became captain. Gill is young but has leadership experience in IPL. Let Bumrah focus on what he does best - destroying batting lineups! 🇮🇳
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Priya M.
Emotional week for Indian cricket fans 😢 First Rohit then Virat...end of an era. But excited for Gambhir's fresh approach! Bumrah as captain would be interesting - he's got that calm intensity. Just hope selectors don't make decisions based only on seniority but actual leadership qualities.
A
Amit S.
Why not split captaincy? Bumrah for overseas Tests where his bowling experience matters most, and Gill for home series. Worked well with Rohit-Dhoni split in white ball cricket. England tour will be real test - need someone who understands those conditions well.
S
Sunita R.
Ashwin himself would make a great captain! His cricketing brain is unmatched. But since he's not in contention, Bumrah is the right choice. He commands respect from all players and has that X-factor. Just hope his body holds up with the extra responsibility 🤞
V
Vikram J.
Too much focus on individuals! What we need is strong domestic structure to keep producing quality players. Remember how we struggled after Sachin-Dravid-Ganguly retired? Now same situation. BCCI should invest more in Ranji Trophy instead of just IPL glamour.
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Neha P.
Whatever happened to grooming young captains? Suddenly we're talking about Bumrah who's never captained at any level. At least Gill has led India A and Punjab. Captaincy is about man-management, not just being a great player. Let's not repeat the same mistakes!

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