'Don't make Jasprit Bumrah captain': Ravi Shastri drops bombshell

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and ex-head coach Ravi Shastri has advocated for a forward-thinking approach in selecting India's next Test captain after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format. Rohit recently stepped away from Test cricket but confirmed that he will continue to play ODIs. He had earlier retired from T20 internationals after leading India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title in the West Indies.Speaking on The ICC Review, Shastri shared his perspective on the ongoing discussion surrounding the vacant Test captaincy.

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In a conversation with host Sanjana Ganesan, Shastri emphasized the need for a future-oriented mindset and advised against burdening India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah with leadership duties.

“See for me, Jasprit would have been the obvious choice after Australia,” Shastri said.“But I don’t want Jasprit to be made captain and then you lose him as a bowler.”Shastri highlighted Bumrah’s recent battle with a back injury that he sustained during the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy match in Sydney. The injury sidelined him for almost three months, from early January to April, forcing him to miss India’s triumphant ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign.“I think he (Bumrah) has to take his body one game at a time. He's coming back now after a serious injury," Shastri noted.“He'll have played IPL cricket, which is four-over cricket. Now will come the test of bowling 10 overs, 15 overs. And the last thing you want is some pressure on his mind being captain as well.”

Instead of putting extra responsibility on Bumrah, Shastri backed Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant as suitable candidates for Test captaincy, stressing the importance of age and longevity.“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," Shastri said.“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. So, let them learn.”Shastri also pointed out that with Rohit and Virat Kohli recently stepping away from the Test format, the team must look ahead, further bolstering the case for Gill or Pant.Both players come with leadership experience, having captained their IPL franchises — Gill with Gujarat Titans and Pant with Delhi Capitals.“They've got experience as captains, now, captaining their franchise and that makes a difference," Shastri noted."The little I've seen of Shubman looks very interesting. Composed, calm, he has all the qualities,” said Shastri, praising the temperament of the top-ranked batter in the ICC ODI Player Rankings.Addressing concerns about Gill’s performance overseas, Shastri dismissed the criticism outright.

“You people will talk he's not scored runs overseas. You know, that topic always comes, not scored runs overseas,” he said.“Sometimes I tell them, go and see your own record, how much have you done overseas? Overseas, overseas, let him play, let him get a run overseas, then he'll score runs. He's a class player.”Gill, who has already served as India's vice-captain in ODIs, also captained the national side in a T20I series in Zimbabwe. India won the series 4-1, with Gill scoring 170 runs across five innings at a strike rate of 125.92, including a highest score of 66 in the third T20I — a match India won by 23 runs.“He has a decade of cricket ahead of him for the country," Shastri said."And I'm sure he'll get cracking in one of the tours, he'll make up for all those runs he's not got on earlier."