Sunil Gavaskar Backs Jasprit Bumrah as India’s Future Test Captain

Jasprit Bumrah became India’s captain for the first time in 2022 during a Test match against England in Birmingham after Rohit Sharma couldn’t recover from COVID-19. He became the first bowler to captain India since Kapil Dev, who led the team last in 1987.

Jasprit Bumrah was given the captaincy for the fifth and final Test. However, he injured himself in the first innings and couldn’t bowl in the second innings. As a result, Australia won the New Year’s Test by six wickets, securing the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against India in Sydney.

Sunil Gavaskar praised Jasprit Bumrah for his leadership in Australia, highlighting his natural authority and ability to motivate teammates without adding pressure. Bumrah was appointed India’s vice-captain for the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, recognizing his leadership qualities. He said:

He could be the next man; I think he will be the next man because he leads from the front. He’s got a very good air about him, the air of a leader, but not somebody who’s going to put pressure on you. Sometimes you have captains who put a lot of pressure on you.

In 2023, Bumrah became India’s captain for their tour to Ireland, leading them to a 2-0 victory in the three-match T20I series. The third match was abandoned due to rain. As a captain, Bumrah has won three international matches, lost one, and had one no result.