Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has suggested that Shubman Gill should lead India’s Test team during the upcoming England tour when Jasprit Bumrah needs rest. The captaincy debate has intensified following Rohit Sharma’s recent Test retirement, with India preparing for a five-match series starting June 20 at Headingley.Jaffer expressed his views on social media platform X, stating: “I think Bumrah is an automatic captaincy choice, unless he doesn’t want the responsibility. He should be the captain with Gill as VC – stepping in whenever Bumrah needs rest. This way Gill could also be groomed without the pressure of being the full time captain.”Gill, currently leading Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, is among several candidates being considered for Test captaincy, alongside Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant.Bumrah has already led India in three Tests, including a victory in Perth during last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.However, Bumrah’s fitness remains a concern for the England tour. He experienced a back injury during the final Test in Sydney, preventing him from bowling in the second innings.The same back injury, which required surgery in early 2023, caused Bumrah to miss India’s successful 2025 Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai.
KL Rahul has previous Test captaincy experience, having led India in three Tests, including a 2-0 series win in Bangladesh in December 2022.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?India hasn’t secured a Test series victory in England since their 1-0 win under Rahul Dravid’s leadership in 2007.The upcoming England tour includes matches at Edgbaston (July 2-6), Lord’s (July 10-14), Old Trafford (July 23-27), and The Oval (July 31 to August 4).
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