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The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) ended all the speculation about India's Test captaincy options in Rohit Sharma's absence in one go by naming Jasprit Bumrah the vice-captain for the upcoming men's three-Test series against New Zealand at home.
They had somehow missed naming a deputy for Rohit for the two Tests against Bangladesh. This kept the door ajar for someone like Shubman Gill to be in the chatter for being the stand-in captain if Rohit were to be unavailable for one of the Tests against Australia in December, as is being reported.
Below, we discuss why this end to the confusion is a good and an important move for the Test side's perspective:
#3 Clarifies India's leadership heirarchy
The first thing this simple appointment solves is the issue of clarity. A few years ago, the BCCI named KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Bumrah as part of India's 'leadership group' around the Test captain.
It was probably aimed at creating a healthy competition among the three before picking one as the future captain. But injuries and unavailabilities for each on different ocassions meant that never happened.
Captaincy can never be an open-ended question in a team like India. The same players go head to head in the IPL and leaving such uncertainty in the national set-up can breed a bit of animosity.
We saw something similar when Rohit was declared as the T20I side's captain ahead of the World Cup, despite Hardik Pandya leading the team in most of the bilaterals till then. And when Hardik took over Mumbai Indians as the captain from Rohit, it created a never-seen-before chaos and drama.
By naming Bumrah as the vice-captain, it sends a message to Pant and Rahul that the competition is now over and they can focus on their primary skills. Bumrah would also feel that his talent and leadership skills have been recognised.
#2 Bumrah is the most experienced option
Now, why choosing Bumrah over others is a good move? Firstly, he has already led India in a three-match T20I series washout against Ireland last year as well as the rescheduled fifth Test versus England at Edgbaston in July 2022.
Pant, Rahul and Gill all have more IPL experience than him but neither has been convincing enough to see them as leaders in red-ball cricket.
Pant and Gill are still quite young captains who haven't been able to show any tangible commanding skills at Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans respectively. Whereas, Rahul's stints at Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and briefly for India have been mostly underwhelming.
Moreover, Gill and Rahul are also not certain starters in India's Test side and need a few more good knocks away from home to fix their place.
Bumrah, as India's biggest match-winner alongside Rohit and Virat Kohli, ticks all those boxes and more. The team looks up to him and he has enough confidence in his abilities to lead a side full of superstars in Australia.
#1 Captaincy can take Bumrah to another level
To understand what kind of captain Bumrah would be, you don't have to look farther than Pat Cummins. Rohit, despite being a good white-ball leader, has tended to show some tactical issues in red-ball cricket where his bowling rotations and field positions are not upto the mark.
Bumrah can change that, just like how Cummins turned out to be a much better leader than his predecessor by doing the simple things right. India hasn't seen a captain with a bowler's insight for most of its cricketing history and Bumrah would be a refreshing figure in that regard.
Furthermore, with the recent T20 World Cup and IPL seasons (where he hasn't had much help) being prime examples, extra responsibility seems to get the best out of Bumrah. Captaincy might help him unlock a new level of his game, like Cummins and Kohli and in a way, Rohit too.
Because Bumrah is there and clearly the next in-charge, Rohit's absence from the first Test against Australia would only have a batting impact. Captaincy seems to be taken care of quite well.
