"Next Test series is in England and he has to be the Test captain": Sanjay names a player who should replace Rohit Sharma on a permanent basis

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar wants to see Jasprit Bumrah leading India in Test cricket on a permanent basis. Bumrah, who led India in the first and fifth Tests against Australia, is currently injured.

Manjrekar commented following the team’s 1-3 defeat against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are under pressure after scripting regular failures across five Tests in Australia. India won the first Test under Bumrah’s captaincy in Perth.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said that Bumrah should be promoted to captain in case Rohit Sharma leaves the post. Manjrekar said that Bumrah can skip some bilateral series that are not very important for the team.

“Bumrah has to be the captain in the next Test series against England. Rohit didn’t do anything against New Zealand and Australia and opted out of the fifth Test in Sydney. Bumrah has done well but there are many uncertainties around Rohit. Bumrah is a captaincy material,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo.

“We can think about who will captain India if Bumrah is injured. A lot of international cricket is happening and he can certainly slip home series. He can pick important series with the selectors resting him when needed. I don’t know who will be the best vice-captain but it is an important post. The vice-captain should be a part of the Playing XI only on the basis of his performances. There were talks of Shubman Gill getting the vice-captaincy in Australia, but that has changed,” he added.

Jasprit Bumrah didn’t bowl much in the Sydney Test and went for scans. However, the BCCI hasn’t revealed anything about his injury.

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