"Not Easy Being...": Anil Kumble Wants This Player To Lead India In Upcoming England Test Series
Rohit Sharma called time on his Test career on Wednesday. It was a surprising announcement by the right-handed batter, who was the Test captain of the side by the last series that India played in the format. Rohit's retirement leaves a big void that the Indian cricket team needs to fill. Not only the batter, but India need a captain as well to replace him in the format. The side begins its World Test Championship campaign with a five-match series against England on latter's home soil, starting June 20. While the selection committee is yet to reveal who would be the leader during the outing, former India player Anil Kumble feels that the team should go ahead with Jasprit Bumrah.
"Maybe just for this series (against England) go with Bumrah, and then see how his fitness is," Kumble told ESPNcricinfo. "I know it's not easy being a fast bowler. He's had injuries, he was on a break after the Australia series, and is only returning in this IPL. But I'd still go with Bumrah."
Kumble admitted that it will not be possible for Bumrah to play all the five-Test matches. Notably, India's desperate attempt to feature Bumrah in all the five Tests in the side's last outing in Australia saw the pacer picking up an injury and missing a fair part of cricketing action. Hence, there is a huge need of a better workload management for Bumrah. "Whenever that happens, the vice-captain comes in and takes over," Kumble said.
The possible captaincy candidates for India in Test cricket are Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Bumrah captained the side in a couple of Tests during the tour of Australia.
As of now, Rahul and Gill are front-runners due to vice-captain Bumrah's recurrent fitness issues. Bumrah though can't be totally ruled out.
Rohit, the man who led India in four ICC tournament finals, winning two of them, is a bonafide legend in the ODIs with more than 11,000 runs and 32 centuries.
He bowed out from Tests as India's most prolific batter in the second half of his career, overall scoring 4301 runs in 67 Tests with 12 hundreds and 18 half centuries at an average of 40.57.
If a source close to Rohit is to be believed as per PTI, the champion batter had decided on retiring from Tests after India won the Champions Trophy in March.
And though it was known to the men who mattered, the speculation around his future was allowed to swirl in the media by officials who preferred not to come on record.
The selection committee, it is learnt, offered no clarity to Rohit on whether he would make it to the England-bound squad, which is set to be announced some time next week. Rohit, on his part, made it clear to them that he wanted the final call on his career to be his own.
Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Aiden Markram on past failures in ICC events: ‘Obviously chatted to each other and made sure we've buried it nicely'
South Africa has been a perennial underachiever when it comes to the matters of ICC trophy. While they have had their moments in the knockouts, more often than not, they have ended up on the wrong side of things. However, they have another opportunity in the form of the World Test Championship starting on June 11 to rewrite the narrative, and Aiden Markram said the team made sure they have 'buried' the losses from the past nicely. 'This team is a bit different,' Markram said to reporters at Lord's on Sunday. 'The few of us that have been a part of previous events that didn't go our way have dealt with it, have obviously chatted to each other and made sure we've buried it nicely and taken some good lessons from it. But besides from that now, it's more about the excitement of having another opportunity to actually do the job. So that's pretty much where the mind is at the moment.' Speaking of his own role as an opener in the side, Markram said, 'When you're opening the batting, obviously your responsibility is to get the team off to a good start and get us ahead of the game. So that's the challenge, that's what excites us. But when you're preparing against your bowlers, who are world-class, it can only help you as a batter, as uncomfortable as it can be at times,' he would observe. 'A lot of our series have been two-game series. So in order to win that series, you can't start slow,' Markram said. There's no second dip at it, so we're going to have to make sure we hit the ground running and are nice and sharp come day one. To play in a Test match here is really special and then obviously for it to be a final is probably the cherry on top,' Markram concluded.
The Print
35 minutes ago
- The Print
Why renaming of Pataudi Trophy to honour Anderson-Tendulkar has sparked a row
Anderson, who retired in July 2024 after a record 188 Tests and 704 wickets, and Tendulkar, who bowed out in 2013 after 200 Tests and 15,921 runs, are both widely regarded as legends of the modern game. The newly named trophy will make its debut when England and India kick off the new WTC cycle with a five-Test series starting at Headingley, Leeds, from 20 June. New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson will soon be immortalised as the England-India Test series is renamed the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, according to a BBC report. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have jointly taken this decision, with the new trophy set to be unveiled at Lord's during the World Test Championship final which begins on 11 June. The move has sparked debate, as many question retiring the Pataudi Trophy and what it means for cricket's historic legacy. Until now, the Test series played in England was contested for the Pataudi Trophy, named in 2007 to mark 75 years since the first Test between the two nations. The trophy was titled in recognition of the Pataudi family, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi—the only player to represent both England and India in Tests—and his son, Mansoor Ali Khan 'Tiger' Pataudi, a legendary Indian captain. When the series was played in India, it was known as the Anthony de Mello Trophy, after the BCCI's inaugural secretary and president, Anthony de Mello. Heated debate The change in name has sparked a debate and signifies a more profound transformation in the way Indian cricket perceives its own past. Former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi had described Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as 'the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket,' praising his role in overcoming regional divides and fostering a feeling of 'Indian-ness' within the team. Sunil Gavaskar and Erapalli Prasanna shared similar sentiments, with Gavaskar referring to him as 'the most charismatic cricketer of his generation,' and Prasanna remembering how Pataudi encouraged players to prioritise the nation over individual interests, bringing them together as Indians above all else. Writing a column in Sportstar, Gavaskar said, the decision to retire the Pataudi Trophy 'disturbing indeed,' and argued that 'this is the first time one has heard of a trophy named after individual players being retired, though the decision is entirely the ECB's, and the BCCI may well have been informed.' Gavaskar went on to say that the move 'shows a total lack of sensitivity to the contribution made by the Pataudis to cricket in both England and India'. He also expressed hope that 'if an Indian player has been approached, he will have the good sense to politely decline—not only out of respect for two former India captains but also to avoid the same fate of having a trophy named after him retired after he is gone.' The legendary cricketer passed away at the age of 70 in 2011. Gavaskar added that while the ECB is 'fully entitled to name the trophy after one of their own players,' he and 'loads of Indian cricket supporters' hope that 'any other Indian cricketer will have the smarts to decline, lest history repeats itself as it has with the Pataudi Trophy.' Seasoned cricket broadcaster Harsha Bhogle took the discussion to 'X', where he reflected on the renaming of the series. He wrote, 'Having been an admirer of Anderson the player and, as is well known, of Tendulkar, both as a player and a person, I should have been happy with the series being played for a Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy. But it misses the deep connect that Pataudi had with our countries. Both father and son played for Sussex, Sr played for both England and India, Jr set schoolboy batting records in England. There was a very nice ring to the Pataudi Trophy.' Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also expressed his disapproval, describing it as a 'disrespect' to the Pataudi family. Writing on 'X', he stated, 'The problem is how little respect the guardians of today's cricket have for the game's hallowed history. I have had the honour of watching a #PataudiTrophy Test with Sharmila Tagore — what disrespect this shows to her and her illustrious family!' Sharmila Tagore, Tiger Pataudi's wife, shared her feelings about the decision speaking to The Hindustan Times, she said, 'We haven't heard directly from the ECB, but they sent a letter to Saif (Ali Khan) regarding the retirement of the trophy.' She also reflected on the legacy aspect, stating, 'Whether the BCCI wants to preserve Tiger's legacy is for them to decide.' With the news confirmed, it appears Tendulkar had no issue accepting the honour of having a trophy named after him. The cricket boards have looked at recent examples for inspiration. The introduction of the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy for the England-New Zealand Test series in November 2024, as well as the long-established Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, highlights this shift. The upcoming England series will be a stern test for India, which will be without the services of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, after both announced their retirements from Test cricket earlier in May. The tour is set to provide a major opportunity for a new generation of Indian players to impress selectors and cement their place in the team. The India squad for the England series, as announced in June 2025, features Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also Read: Where Sachin was once ball boy, Pataudi last took guard—Mumbai's Wankhede stadium hits 50
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
2nd unofficial Test, Day 3: Easwaran, Khaleel give strong auditions before England series
Abhimanyu Easwaran's disciplined 80-run knock helped India A to a lead of 184 runs at the end of Day 3 in the 2nd unofficial Test match against England Lions. Easwaran was aided by a superb half-century from KL Rahul as well, who made the perfect start to the England tour, bagging a century and a fifty at day started with India failing to get past the 350-run mark. However, after getting bowled out for 348 runs on Sunday, June 8, India A hit back with some fiery fast bowling, skittling England Lions for 327 runs. The Lions were put in mega trouble after Khaleel Ahmed ripped into the side with a fiery spell between the 51st and 57th overs of England's Lions vs India A, 2nd unofficial Test: Highlights Khaleel found the length and the line to make the red Dukes talk. And talk it did in the massively overcast conditions. Khaleel's burst would have made a much bigger impact for India if not for the hosts' last-wicket stand of 48 runs, which pushed the Lions' total to 327, within touching distance of India's first-innings score of a frustrating last 15 overs, India A knew that they needed to hit back with intent. After the early dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has now failed in both innings, senior batter KL Rahul and India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran took matters into their own Rahul's spot is assured in the line-up, Abhimanyu Easwaran needs to prove his credentials to get himself into contention for the playing XI of the Indian team, which has a spot open in the top his first innings, where he edged an outswinger on the very first ball of his innings, Easwaran gave a sensational account of himself alongside the senior was punishing against anything overpitched and also played some sensational pull shots against the England pacers. The India A captain batted for 91 balls and returned with 80 runs, which included 10 batter was trapped by a Chris Woakes delivery which just moved away enough from the off stump to catch his edge and go back to the slip this time, the light had dipped at Northampton and the umpires were forced to call it a day. At stumps, India were leading by 184 runs with 4 wickets in Watch
