R Ashwin has championed Jasprit Bumrah to assume the captaincy role after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s unexpected Test retirements created a leadership void in India’s red-ball outfit. Merit-laden off-spinner R Ashwin has championed Jasprit Bumrah to assume the captaincy role after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s unexpected Test retirements created a leadership void in India’s red-ball outfit.
Rohit said goodbye to Test cricket last Wednesday, and a couple of days ago, Virat also bid goodbye to the game with an emotional note on Instagram. Ashwin, who was oblivious about India’s batting giants’ plans to retire in tandem, believes “testing time” awaits Indian cricket, and their move “truly” ushers in the ‘Gautam Gambhir’ era.
I did not even think that both [Rohit and Kohli] will retire simultaneously. It will be a trial phase for Indian cricket, and I’ll comment this is now the start of the Gautam Gambhir era,” Ashwin told his YouTube program ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
If recent speculations are to be believed, Shubman Gill is the favourite to don the captaincy mantle even though Bumrah was former skipper Rohit’s second-in-command in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was the acting captain in Perth and was in charge when Rohit chose to sit out in the last Test in Sydney.
“The touring team will be entirely new, a revamped team where Bumrah will most likely be the seniormost player. He is categorically one of the captaincy possibilities; I feel he is worthy of the captaincy, but the selectors will take a call depending on his physical ability,” he stated.
Looking back at Rohit and Virat’s retirement decision, Ashwin felt the two still had some juice left in their tank to give more to Indian cricket. He opines that when India takes to the field to play England in the five high-pressure Tests from June 20 in Headingley, the inexperienced touring party will lack the energy of Virat and the calmness of Rohit.
“Their retirements will certainly leave a leadership void. You can’t purchase experience, particularly on tours such as this. Virat’s passion and Rohit’s calmness will be missed,” he added. Tests has been the best [format for India] in the past 10-12 years, but purely for the sake of leadership, Rohit should have played until the England series, and if he’d done well, he could have continued and provided some more leadership
