Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Enter Jasprit Bumrah, the next India Test captain?

Is Jasprit Bumrah ready to take over as India’s next Test captain? The buzz seems to be getting louder after the premier fast bowler led by example to help his team complete the most remarkable turnaround and dent the Australian pride in the Perth Test on Monday.

The captain has reached Down Under after the break due to his fatherhood and is set to take charge from the day-night Test at Adelaide from 6 December 2024 – which will be a fresh challenge as memories of 36 all out in that venue will be difficult to banish altogether from memory.

However, Rohit must be silently thankful to his younger Mumbai Indians colleague for giving him a favourable launching pad in light of his poor form with the bat and the 3-0 whitewash to the Kiwis at home.

The significance of starting a marathon series well, not to speak of at one of the toughest countries to tour, need not be over-emphasised, but ‘Boom Boom’ accepted the challenge with his usual smiling demeanour. ‘’We are a new side so I wanted to put myself in tough scenarios when we needed to do something, to make the job a bit easier for the new guys,’’ the stand-in captain and the Player of the Match said after their 295-run victory on Monday.

Troubled build-up

The build-up to Perth was anything but smooth for Bumrah & Co – the aftershocks of the Kiwi whitewash meant the players could be a bit more vulnerable, premier batter Virat Kohli in poor form, two debutants in Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana as well as Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden Test in Australia. Around the final session on Day I, many were actually debating the wisdom of batting first on a wicket like this as India were all out for 150.

 This is where the pace ace forced a window of opportunity open as he rocked the top half of Aussie top order and ended his first spell with dream figures of 6-3-9-3. It was very much game on from India’s point but then, nothing succeeds like success. An eight-wicket haul from the Test with Bumrah looking virtually unplayable whenever he came on meant that India’s first bowler-captain since Anil Kumble has established himself firmly as a captaincy candidate in-waiting in the red ball format.

Barely few days before the series started, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar had almost stirred a hornet’s nest by saying that if Rohit is not available for first two Tests, the latter should join the squad merely as a player while Bumrah should be made the captain for the entire series. It may be almost blasphemous to consider such an idea in the context of Indian cricket, but the latter looks more than ready for the hot seat should the 37-year-old Rohit call time on his red-ball career sooner than later.

Now 30 and at the peak of his prowess, Bumrah has a cumulative experience of nearly seven years in international cricket and more importantly – is keen to take on the responsibility. ‘’Bowlers are the smart ones,’’ he said in a recent interview, making his leadership aspirations clear.

Common wisdom says that the captain needs to be a regular member of the side in that particular format – and the few candidates who fit the bill at the moment are Bumrah and Rishabh Pant while the more experienced KL Rahul had been in and out of the team.

Pressure on Rohit the batter

Truth be told, the heat will be certainly on Rohit to deliver as an opener in the upcoming pink ball Test – in light of the epic partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rahul in Perth.

 Looking back, Bumrah led India for a full Test only on one occasion before against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham in 2022 where India lost the Test. He did also step in for a three-match T20I series in Ireland last year in a series meant to test his fitness.

Sometimes, a stop gap captain ends up doing a decent job to leave a legacy for themselves – the most shining example being that of Kumble in 2008 tour of Australia.

 Could Bumrah be the next Pat Cummins? Let's wait and watch.