Jasprit Bumrah was a surprise inclusion in India’s Test squad for the first match of the two-Test series against Bangladesh. The match will be played in Chennai from September 19 onwards, while the second Test begins on September 27 in Kanpur.
Jasprit Bumrah has been resting ever since his Player of the Tournament performance for India in their T20 World Cup 2204 winning campaign. Bumrah was not part of India’s tours of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and he was not named in any Duleep Trophy squads.
It was also previously reported that Jasprit Bumrah might also give the Bangladesh Test series a miss and make his return to cricket with the three-Test series against New Zealand. However, it seems like the BCCI wants Jasprit Bumrah to warm up for the Australia Test tour later this year and hence included him in the India Test squad against Bangladesh.
As India named their 16-man team for the series opener on Sunday, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant made his return to the Test side after nearly 20 months. While several well-known players returned to the squad, others were left out like Shreyas Iyer and Mohammad Shami.
Is Jasprit Bumrah’s days as India Test vice-captain over?
Another choice by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee that generated concerns was the lack of a designated vice-captain.
Has Jasprit Bumrah been removed as the Test team’s vice-captain? Why didn’t the selectors name a vice-captain for the first Test against Bangladesh? Why was Shubman Gill overlooked despite the selectors designating him vice-captain of the white-ball teams?
The selectors’ choice not to pick a vice-captain has created questions about whether Bumrah is still the vice-captain or not. Bumrah captained India in one Test match against England in 2022.
Bumrah is considered one of the team’s leaders, with KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Virat Kohli. While Kohli does not want to be granted an official leadership role, Rahul and Pant are also vying for India’s long-term captaincy in whites. However, none of them have been chosen as vice-captains for the Bangladesh Tests.
The BCCI decided against designating Rohit’s deputy for the first Test against Bangladesh. There was no rationale given for it. With India scheduled to play Australia later this year, the selectors would need to decide on a vice-captain quickly.
KL Rahul was previously a regular vice-captain, and he also captained Team India when Rohit and Virat were out. Due to his poor performance in Test cricket, the selectors replaced him with Jasprit Bumrah.
Before them, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane served as vice-captains under Virat Kohli. India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir are likely to address this subject during a news conference ahead of the commencement of the Bangladesh Test series.
India squad for 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.