Sunil Gavaskar backs Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in England series

The squad for India’s tour of England is yet to be announced, but there have already been multiple reports on who would be leading the team in the five-match Test series. The reports suggest that Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are among the front-runners to lead the team in red-ball cricket.

Some former cricketers have agreed with this decision, as both players are already seen as the next rising stars of Indian cricket. However, 1983 World Cup winner and former legendary Test batter Sunil Gavaskar has picked Jasprit Bumrah as the perfect candidate to lead the team. The 75-year-old commentator explained this in the context of managing Bumrah's workload with this move, as he would be the best person to know how many spells he can bowl in a Test match. According to Gavaskar, this is crucial since Bumrah is also the best bowler in the team right now.

“Who better to know what is the workload for himself than himself? If you appoint somebody else, they would always want an extra over from Bumrah. If he is your No. 1 bowler, he will himself know that 'yes, this is the time I must take a break'. To me, it has to be Jasprit Bumrah only,” Gavaskar said on Sports Today.

“I know all this kind of speculation going around his workload and all that. Give it to him so that he knows how many overs to bowl, when to take him off, when to sort of rest. That would be the best thing," the former India legend further added.

He will be best person to know when to bowl: Gavaskar

Furthermore, Sunil Gavaskar also mentioned the gap between some of the Test matches that will be played in England and noted that Bumrah would not have to miss a single game since he would have enough time to recover. Gavaskar further supported his opinion of making him the Test captain, stating that he would be the best person to know when to bowl in those conditions as well.

“He (Bumrah) may not have to miss a Test match. If you give it to him, he might know when to stop before his body starts to crumble. For me, give it to him. After the first Test, there is an eight-day gap. There's enough time to recover. Then, there are two back-to-back Test matches. That's fine. There's then another gap. If you give him the captaincy, he will be the best person to know when to bowl," Gavaskar concluded.