India’s star pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, who served as the vice-captain during the Test series against England earlier this year, will not be fulfilling the same role in the upcoming first Test against Bangladesh. While Bumrah remains a part of the squad, he will be playing as a regular team member and will not be Rohit Sharma’s deputy.
Bumrah, along with KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Virat Kohli, is considered a key leader within the Indian team. While Kohli has opted to step away from official leadership roles, Rahul and Pant are seen as potential future Test captains. Interestingly, the team has not designated a vice-captain for the Bangladesh series.
The absence of the vice-captaincy role for Bumrah suggests that the BCCI and team management may not envision him as a future captain. This could be a strategic decision to carefully manage his workload, especially given his injury history. Bumrah has previously captained India, notably in the rescheduled 2022 Test against England and the 2023 match against Ireland, where his leadership was highly praised. However, a captain’s consistent availability is crucial, and Bumrah’s injury history might pose a challenge in this regard.
With Gautam Gambhir now at the helm as head coach, India’s approach to vice-captaincy has shifted. Hardik Pandya was replaced by Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is, and Shubman Gill has taken over the vice-captaincy duties in both ODIs and T20Is, sparking speculation about his potential role in Test cricket.
The first Test between India and Bangladesh is set to begin on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, followed by the second Test at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 27.
India’s squad for the 1st Test vs Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.
