Birmingham (TIP)- Jasprit Bumrah will be captaining India in the Edgbaston Test against England, the BCCI confirmed on Thursday (June 30). Regular captain Rohit Sharma, who was a doubtful starter, underwent a RAT Test on Thursday morning and returned a positive result for Covid-19 and has been ruled out of the vital clash as a result.

Bumrah was the frontrunner to lead the national side in the postponed Test match from the moment Rohit got sidelined due to Covid-19, as reported earlier. A vice-captain wasn’t named for the tour by the selectors ever since KL Rahul was ruled out.

Even though the chances of Rohit making it to the game appeared to be slim with the 35-year-old running out of time, the management was willing to wait until the end to see if he returns a negative test result a day before the game. With the opener not recovering, Bumrah will now become the first pacer after Kapil Dev to lead India in a Test match.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who led India in the recently-concluded T20I series at home against South Africa, has been named Bumrah’s deputy. India also will have to take a call on their opening combination now that Rohit has been ruled out. With both the regular openers now ruled out, Shubman Gill is likely to slot in as one of the openers. Mayank Agarwal was recently drafted into the squad and Cheteshwar Pujara stands a chance of returning to the XI as well. India are currently leading the series 2-1 after four Tests.

No experience

As he admitted himself, Bumrah has never captained a team at any level before. He may have experienced the burden of a nation while bowling in the death overs in ODIs and T20Is, but the scrutiny on him during the next five days will be magnified a thousand times. He will have to make decisions based upon not only his own skill set, but those of others as well. At his first press conference as skipper, Burmah spoke calmly and confidently. There was no hesitation and certainly plenty of self-belief. He almost gave the indication that for a captain, while seeking different opinions is fine, it is always best to trust your own gut feel. “I have spoken to Rohit and Virat about captaincy, but at the end of the day I have to back myself,” he stated.

One of the first decisions Bumrah will need to make is about India’s playing XI. The sight of Ravichandran Ashwin walking to the pitch with his pads on after a net session showcased the off-spinner’s enthusiasm. Ashwin and the Indian coaching staff had a long chat with the chief curator about the pitch.

There is a theory in the Indian camp that with England batting so aggressively and taking a particular liking to pace bowlers, both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja should feature in the playing XI. Burmah and Shami are the automatic picks as pacers, leaving Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Siraj to fight it out for the third pace bowling slot.

Pujara set to return

On the batting front, it seems Cheteshwar Pujara is certain to return to the playing XI at No. 3. Pujara spent plenty of time shadow-practising on the centre wicket yesterday and also had a modest hit-out in the nets today. With the practice session being optional, most of the frontline batsmen such as Kohli, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer opted against batting. The pitch has a brown tinge instead of the traditional green English look. There is bound to be a bit of rain on the first two days of the match, but it seems the pitch will be good for batting. Bumrah admitted India have largely decided on the playing XI, but it would only be revealed on the morning of the match. The playing XI along with the decision at the toss will be the first things Bumrah must get right in his first foray into captaincy.

            Source: Cricbuzz and TNS