R Ashwin Advocates Jasprit Bumrah For Test Captaincy Amid Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma's Exit
Ravichandran Ashwin expresses concern over the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the upcoming Test series against England, following their surprising retirements. He emphasizes the leadership void and suggests Jasprit Bumrah as a potential captain, though selectors will decide based on Bumrah's physical capacity. The retirements mark a pivotal moment for Indian cricket's future leadership.
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin feels that the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will cause a major loss in the upcoming Test series against England. Recently, a few days ago on May 7, Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket, and a few days later, Virat also took the same decision, leaving the Indian cricket fans amazed by their sudden decision to retire.
After the retirement of two legendary players of Test cricket, the BCCI now has a responsibility to find a suitable candidate for the future. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah led the team. If we look at the media reports, then Shubman Gill is the top contender for the captaincy role in the coming future. Ashwin believes that Bumrah should be given the captaincy, but at the end decision will be taken by the selectors.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, 'Ash Ki Baat,' Ashwin said,
"I didn't have an idea both (Rohit and Kohli) would retire together. This will be a testing time for Indian cricket, and I'll say this is truly now the beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era."
Further, Ashwin said,
"The team that will tour England will be a completely new team, a transformed team where Bumrah will probably be the most senior player. He is obviously one of the captaincy options. I think he deserves the captaincy, but the selectors will take a decision based on his physical capacity."
Talking about Rohit and Virat's decision to retire all together, Ashwin feels that the duo still had enough left in them to offer the Indian cricket team. He believes that the new Indian cricket team will surely be missing Rohit's composure and Virat's energy in the field.
"Their retirements will definitely create a leadership vacuum. You can't buy experience, especially on tours like this. Virat's energy and Rohit's composure will be missed."
"Tests have been the finest (format for India) in the last 10-12 years, but just for the sake of leadership, Rohit should've played till the England series, and if he'd performed, he could've carried on and given some more leadership."