Why Jasprit Bumrah wasn't named Team India Test captain? Chief selector Ajit Agarkar explains

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has confirmed that star pacer Jasprit Bumrah might not play in all five Test matches against England, which kick off on June 20. The 31-year-old took the reins of the Indian team when former captain Rohit Sharma was unavailable, but for the upcoming England tour, he won’t be leading the squad. Instead, Shubman Gill has been entrusted with the captaincy, while Rishabh Pant steps in as his deputy.

One of the main reasons for not naming Bumrah as captain is to manage his workload. The team management and selection committee are well aware of the concerns surrounding Bumrah and want to avoid putting him at risk by having him play every Test match. This is also why Arshdeep Singh has been included in the 18-member squad. Agarkar mentioned that if Bumrah is unable to play, the left-arm seamer can bring some much-needed variety to the team.

“I mean, not really booms (Bumrah), because he led in Australia. He was vice captain in Australia but once he's not going to be available for all the test matches, I think he's more important to us as a player. We want him fit. There's always that extra burden when you're leading, managing 15-16, other people, there's a lot that it takes out of you.”

"We'd rather have him bowling as well as he does, than putting that extra burden on him. He's aware of it and he'd rather look after himself and be bowling fit." Agarkar said.

Bumrah notably captained the Indian team during the 2023 World Test Championship Final and led the side in both the opening and concluding matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. His leadership skills have garnered significant praise; however, the selectors' precedent set by Hardik Pandya's T20I captaincy made it challenging for Bumrah to assume the captaincy of the Test team.

Ajit Agarkar also elaborated on the decision to select Karun Nair over Sarfaraz Khan, who notably scored a century on his Test debut. The former Indian cricketer explained that, in the absence of Virat Kohli, the team management sought to incorporate experience into the middle order. Given Nair's recent form, they opted for the Jodhpur-born player over Sarfaraz, who has struggled to make a significant impact in the format since his debut.

“Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test and then didn't get runs. Sometimes it's decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we're lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help,” Agarkar said.

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