BCCI likely to shuffle team India captaincy role: Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to rethink the Test team leadership role. Team India's current number 1 bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, is uncertain to play all matches in the India vs. England Test series. Team India will take a flight to England to play 5 Test matches.

The series is scheduled to start on June 20, and the 5th Test will start on July 31. Bumrah, the main man in the bowling unit of the team, can miss multiple matches in the series. He is also the vice captain of the current Test squad set up.

The speedster previously led Team India in multiple Test matches, including a win against Australia last year in the prestigious Border Gavaskar Trophy. BCCI selectors want to protect the talent as much as possible, so the board has to redesign the workload management schedule for the right-hand bowler.

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Last year, when India faced Australia, Bumrah was the man who almost single-handedly carried the team and then got injured. After the Sydney test, Bumrah was sidelined for a serious injury and missed the Champions Trophy. So it is crucial for BCCI officials to rethink his workload.

Gill and Pant can be the ideal face for the role

As per media reports, the board is now in search of a young face who has leadership qualities. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja over 30 don't match the criteria; Yashasvi Jaiswal, 23, is too young to carry the heavy role. There are only prominent names in the present Test squad who can meet board criteria for a leadership role— Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Gill is now 25 and Pant 27; they are looking promising on cards. 

A BCCI source quoted in a media report, "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 be certain and play all five Tests."