Virat Kohli handed over India’s Test captaincy after Australia’s horror; Next WTC cycle fixed!!
The Indian Test team is going through a period of transition with the no. older players in their high thirties. At such an important point, it remains to be seen who will become the next Indian captain after Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are currently believed to be candidates for this role. While Kohli has already led India in the past, Bumrah is currently the vice-captain of the team. Cricket greats like Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan. share your opinion on this topic.
While Gilchrist backed Kohli to become India’s captain again, Vaughan had different views and called on Bumrah to take over as India’s Test captain. However, Rohit Sharma is yet to leave the format and is still India’s official Test captain.
Also read: Virat Kohli’s retirement threat sent to BCCI and Indian Cricket in Australia
Adam Gilchrist backs Virat Kohli to be India’s next Test captain
While speaking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, Adam Gilchrist expressed his doubts about Jasprit Bumrah’s injuries and feels that Kohli would be better suited for the role. Bumrah has a history of injuries and his unavailability can affect India in crucial situations of the match.
“I don’t know if (Jasprit) Bumrah should be the full-time captain. I guess it might be a bit of a challenge for him. Who could be the next captain is anyone’s guess, actually, whether he goes back to Virat (Kohli). I wouldn’t surprised he wouldn’t mind,” Gilchrist said.
Jasprit Bumrah stepped in as India’s captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who pulled out of the fifth Test in Sydney due to poor form. However, Bumrah had to leave the field midway after suffering back spasms.
Virat Kohli led India in the absence of Bumrah in the second innings of the match. The men in blue missed their premier fast bowler and ended up losing the match by 6 wickets to eventually drop the series 1-3 to the hosts.
Michael Vaughan supports Jasprit Bumrah
While Adam Gilchrist has backed Virat Kohli, Michael Vaughan feels India must appoint Jasprit Bumrah as the next Test captain. According to Vaughan, India were at their best under Bumrah in the Perth Test and even argued that they would have won if Bumrah had been available in the last innings in Sydney.
“I would have given the captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah, the reason being the two performances that India had the best in Australia, Perth (first Test) and SCG (fifth Test). And if he hadn’t been injured (in Sydney) ), I honestly think they would have won that game,” Vaughan noted.
Vaughan also urged India to groom Shubman Gill as India’s vice-captain so that he can be groomed for a leadership role. However, Gill’s performance in red-ball cricket has declined over the last few years.
Virat Kohli’s record as India’s Test captain
Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test captain who has led the team in 40 out of 68 matches. India’s win percentage under his leadership is an impressive 58.82%. Under his leadership, India won a historic Test series against Australia in 2018 and became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia.
However, in January 2022, he relinquished the lead role to Rohit Sharma. Kohli has been going through a poor run of form in Tests recently. He scored just 190 runs in five Tests at an average of just 23.75 in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India will now play a Test match after a long break in June and July 2025 when they travel to England as their first assignment in the next WTC cycle. The Virat Kohli vs. Jasprit Bumrah debate could go on till then.
