Rohit Sharma will decide on going to England for a five-Test series by the second week of May, RevSportz understands. In case he opts out, which appears unlikely at the moment, Shubman Gill is next in line to be handed the Test captaincy.
The Indian squad for the England tour – the five-Test series commencing at Leeds on 20 June – is likely to be picked in the final weeks of the IPL. “As things stand, Rohit is going,” a source in the know told RevSportz. “But you never know. It will depend on his fitness as well. There’s no hurry. By mid-May, he will decide.
If Rohit travels, he will lead the side, almost by default. Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness, however, is a concern. The fast bowler might not play all five Tests in England to manage his workload. At present, Bumrah’s return date in this year’s IPL remains undecided. The 31-year-old is still recovering from the back injury that saw him miss the Champions Trophy. Bumrah is Indian cricket’s most valuable player by a distance, and there is no question of rushing him back. The medical team at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will not allow that.
Bumrah was the designated vice-captain of the Indian team for the tour of Australia and led in the first Test in Perth in Rohit’s absence. The team started off with a resounding win. However, as India lost two out of the next three Tests under Rohit’s charge, Bumrah had to assume the responsibility again in the final Test in Sydney, with the regular skipper standing down due to his poor form with the bat. In that game, however, the speedster suffered a lower-back stress injury and couldn’t bowl in the second innings.
Rohit scored just 31 runs in five innings in Australia. Following the tour, the BCCI conducted a review meeting where it was reportedly decided that Bumrah would be India’s red-ball captain in the next World Test Championship cycle, starting with the England series. However, concerns over his fitness could jeopardise those plans. Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler who worked with Bumrah at MI as the team’s bowling coach, has warned that another injury to the same spot could be potentially career-ending for India’s most treasured cricketing asset. “You would be looking at five Tests in England; I would not want to be playing him in any more than two in a row,” Bond was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“Maybe, the selectors will have to look at Shubman as the back-up option,” said the source. “He has already been appointed as vice-captain in the ODI team, and he is being viewed as a long-term option in the longer format as well.”
Rohit led India to the Champions Trophy triumph, and the carry-over effect has created a strong sentiment in his favour to lead the team in the Test series in England as well. However, there’s a catch. ODIs and Tests are two completely different formats. Does he still have it in him to succeed in Tests? The ball will move in the air and off the deck in England, and after back-to-back Test series losses against New Zealand and Australia, India will have little margin for error.
BCCI Central Contracts:
With the BCCI set to release its central contract list for men’s cricket in the coming days, it is understood that the hierarchy is unlikely to make major changes. Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to be retained in the A+ category, despite having retired from T20 internationals. The decision, however, might not be unanimous.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, India head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar are expected to hold a meeting in Guwahati on Saturday regarding the contracts.
Shreyas Iyer, who was unceremoniously dropped from the central contract list last year, is set to earn back his retainership now that he has returned to the ODI fold. Ishan Kishan’s case, however, is said to be fifty-fifty. The Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman also lost his central contract last year, ostensibly for not playing domestic cricket.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Axar Patel are likely to be upgraded to Category A.
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