With Rohit Sharma's Test retirement, India will be touring England with a new captain. Who would lead them for the five Tests? Wisden writers have their say.
After 24 Tests in charge, Rohit stepped away from the format, announcing his retirement via a social media post. The confirmation came amid reports that the selectors were looking past Rohit's captaincy, following his run of bad form and poor results in the last few series.
There's no clear candidate to succeed, with the race seemingly open between Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul(unless there's a surprise in store). As vice-captain, Bumrah is the obvious candidate, but his history with injuries sticks out as a disadvantage. Pant and KL Rahul have been around for a while – Pant has white-ball leadership experience, while Rahul has been India's stand-in captain on a number of occasions.
The responsibility could go to Gill, the youngest of them all. While some feel Gill is yet to crack Test cricket, he's led at the U19, A level as well as the IPL, also leading India's T20I team against Zimbabwe last year.
Who’ll be India's next Test captain: Wisden writers have their say
Aadya Sharma, Wisden India Editor
As the incumbent vice-captain, Jasprit Bumrah should be the designated captain, at least for the England Tests. I see the value in grooming a youngster like Shubman Gill, but that thought can hold for slightly longer. In 24 innings outside Asia, he's managed no centuries and just two fifties. It would be prudent to give him more time to find his groove outside first, than for him to lead India on an arduous tour while being on shaky ground himself. Let Gill fill in the missing bits when Bumrah's not around, but when both are available, it should be the seamer with the armband on.
Abhishek Mukherjee, Head of Special Content, Wisden
Gill has age and fitness on his side. While one can see the point in backing him as a long-term captain, his overseas Test batting record has gaping holes that need to be addressed first. It will be prudent to give the job to Bumrah, at least for the England tour, while Gill gets the big runs under his belt. Of course, Bumrah’s workload will need to be managed: the Tests Bumrah is rested can serve as the ideal launching pad for Captain Gill. India have done that before, in 2007, when they appointed Anil Kumble as Test captain and MS Dhoni his deputy.
Atri Sanfui, Staff Writer
While Bumrah has demonstrated more than enough capability to justify being India’s Test captain, he is unlikely to be a long-term appointment: India will continue to manage his workload carefully, prioritising high-profile series, particularly in SENA countries, given his injury history.
Gill, meanwhile, is widely touted as India’s next batting superstar. While his Test career hasn’t taken off as expected, his age, fitness, and likelihood of playing more regularly across conditions work in his favour. However, he must start getting the big runs. That he’s India’s second-highest run-scorer (899 at 40.86) since the start of 2024 is a promising sign.
Sarah Waris, Staff Writer
I have been a long-time advocate for Bumrah to be given the role because he seems to be a deep thinker of the game. But, I have also seen him break down in Australia due to increased burden and responsibility, and that's something Indian cricket cannot risk.
At this point, it is worth asking: do India need Bumrah the bowler more, or Bumrah the captain? It's a rhetorical question, and that should be your answer to the wider question.
Agreed, Gill does not have the best SENA numbers, and his Test career is yet to take off as he would have liked, but teams have identified him as a future leader even before he broke through. In 2020, Brendon McCullum had included Gill in KKR's leadership group that had names such as Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins, indicating his early promise and potential.
At 25, he will also give India continuity with their Test plans for at least a decade, something the team lacked when Rohit Sharma became the skipper. This could well be like a Graeme Smith-like situation, where a youngster with limited international games was named the leader, much to everyone's amazement, only for him to become an all-time great.
Naman Agarwal, News Editor
Bumrah ticks all boxes for leading India's Test team except one: availability. And the fact that his availability concerns are not just due to potential injuries, but also workload management programmes even when fit, will make it incredibly tough to gamble on him as the permanent designated captain.
However, a five-Test tour of England could be a gruelling assignment for established, senior batters, let alone a 25-year-old who has not yet made a mark overseas. While I do feel that Gill is the future and will wear the armband sooner or later, perhaps easing him into the role in a home series would be a wiser move than throwing him in the deep end in England.
For now, Bumrah can start the England series as captain with Gill as deputy filling in if the seamer needs to miss a game or two.
Rahul Iyer, Staff Writer
There are no doubt holes in Gill's overseas record with the bat. But it is hardly in question that he is an incredible talent, and will one day be India's long-term captain, perhaps across formats given the BCCI's reluctance (borderline stubbornness) towards split captaincy.
The merits of allowing Bumrah to lead just for this series, before appointing Gill for an easier home assignment are also understandable. But even if Bumrah was made captain, Gill leading at least one Test in England might have happened anyway thanks to the pacer's injuries, or workload management (he is rested even during live series). If Gill is a long-term candidate, and might have led at least partially on this tour, why not back him from the word go?
No one claims it will be easy, but it's also worth noting captaincy, that too of more experienced players, is not new to him at all. His first taste of it at the senior level came aged 19 in the 2019 Duleep Trophy, as the youngest member of the XI. Less than a month later, he was doing exactly the same for India A as Manish Pandey's stand-in.
Trust him to work it out.
