India’s pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, is set to lose his vice-captaincy ahead of the team’s upcoming tour to England in June for a five-match Test series. This series will mark the start of the 2025/27 World Test Championship cycle. Bumrah, who served as Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the last Test series against Australia, even captained India during their only win in Perth and in the final Test in Sydney after Rohit rested.
However, sources told “The Indian Express” that Bumrah is unlikely to play all the matches in England due to workload management concerns. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee wants a vice-captain who will feature in every game of the tour. “We want a player who will be available for all five Test matches and he should be given the vice-captain’s role. Bumrah won’t be playing all five matches, so we don’t want to appoint different deputies for different games. It will be better that the captain and vice-captain should be certain and play all five Tests,” BCCI sources said.
The selectors are also focusing on grooming a potential future Test captain, and thus, are eyeing a “young face” for the vice-captaincy role. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are considered strong candidates. Gill recently served in a similar role during India’s successful Champions Trophy campaign, while Pant led India in a T20I series against South Africa in 2022. The report also highlighted ongoing concerns about Bumrah’s injury history, particularly after his recent recovery from a back injury that kept him sidelined from January to April, including missing the Champions Trophy and part of IPL 2025.
