Courtesy: BCCI/Google
Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has said he doesn’t want the Test captaincy mantle to be handed to star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been struggling with fitness issues recently. Bumrah, who guided India to an emphatic 295-run win against Australia in the Test match in Perth in November 2024, was the top contender to become India’s next red-ball captain a few days back. However, as per reports, his fitness is hindering his chances of becoming the leader now. Following India’s debacle in the Sydney Test in January, Bumrah stayed out of cricketing action for more than three months. His old back issue emerged as a headache for him again.
Speaking to Sanjana Ganesan recently for ‘ICC Review’ show, Shastri said he was seeing Jasprit Bumrah as captain following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, but former coach also added that he doesn’t want Bumrah to take the leadership role as Team India fans can lose the speedster as a bowler. “See for me, Jasprit would have been the obvious choice after Australia. But I don't want Jasprit to be made captain and then you lose him as a bowler. I think he (Bumrah) has to take his body one game at a time. He's coming back now after a serious injury. He'll have played IPL cricket, which is four-over cricket. Now will come the test of bowling 10 overs, 15 overs (in Tests). And the last thing you want is some pressure on his mind being captain as well,” said Shastri.
Ravi Shastri wants Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant to be appointed India’s next Test captain
Shastri wants to see Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant to lead India in cricket’s longest format. Former India player said Gill has a lot of time when it comes to captaincy and the youngster can be groomed well for the post. “You groom somebody and I would say Shubman's looked very good. Give him the opportunity. He's 25, 26 years of age, even give him time. There's Rishabh as well. I think these two are the obvious ones I'm looking at because of their age and they have a decade ahead of them,” said Shastri.
Both Gill and Pant are captaining their respective teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Gill is holding the reins of Gujarat Titans (GT) while Pant is leading Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), this season. However, it’s Shubman, who has handled the leadership responsibility magnificently. Under him, GT have bagged eight victories in 11 matches.
