Jasprit Bumrah to Lead India if Rohit Sharma Misses First Test in BGT

New Delhi, November 11: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah, India’s leading pace bowler, will captain the national men’s cricket team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable. The much-anticipated Test series kicks off on November 22 in Perth, and while Rohit is not yet with the team, he has not been officially ruled out.

“Bumrah is vice-captain; if Rohit is not available, he is going to lead in Perth,” Gambhir announced during a pre-departure press conference in Mumbai. The coach added, “At the moment, there is no confirmation [on Rohit’s availability]. Hopefully, he’s going to be available, but everything will be clear at the start of the series.”

With India needing a clean 4-0 sweep to secure their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Gambhir’s announcement outlines the team’s leadership contingency plan amid mounting pressure. India faced a setback after a 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand, making the upcoming series against Australia pivotal to their WTC aspirations.

The series will see a day-night Test under the lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. The third Test will unfold at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 14 to 18, followed by the iconic Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30. The climactic fifth Test is scheduled at Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting conclusion to a hard-fought series.

India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.

Australia’s squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

The India-Australia rivalry promises a thrilling contest, with both teams vying for WTC points and a chance to advance to the final in London.