Reports: Jasprit Bumrah opts out of India's Test captaincy; Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant frontrunners

After Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, May 7, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking for a new captain in the longest format of the game. While various reports have suggested that Shubman Gill is the frontrunner, the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah were also understood to be in the fray.

However, a Sky Sports report has confirmed that Bumrah has opted out of the race owing to workload concerns, leaving Gill and Pant as the frontrunners. 

"It is understood Bumrah, who was favourite to take over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma, does not want to commit to playing all five Tests in a series due to workload. He is unlikely to feature in all five Tests against England and selectors would prefer a captain who can consistently feature across a whole series," the report states.

KL Rahul not in contention for Test captaincy

Meanwhile, KL Rahul isn't in contention for the prestigious role. The Karnataka batter has played 58 Tests, 85 ODIs, and 72 T20Is so far since making his international debut in 2014. He also has the experience of leading India in three Tests, 12 ODIs, and a solitary T20I. In the three Tests India played under his captaincy, they won two and lost one.

However, according to a latest report, Rahul is not being considered for the role of India's red-ball captaincy, with his age (33) and inconsistency being the key reasons behind.

“It is understood that KL Rahul isn’t being considered as an option, as he is already 33-plus, and consistency has been an issue with the Bengaluru player even though he was one of the better performers in Australia," the report read.

Rahul was one of the better performers for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He scored 276 runs from five matches, registering two fifties.

India's upcoming assignment is a five-match Test series against England in the United Kingdom. The first Test begins on June 20 in Leeds. Rahul is expected to open the batting along with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The right-handed batter has a decent record in English conditions.

In nine Tests, Rahul has scored 614 runs at an average of 34.11. He has notched up two centuries and one fifty. His highest score in the European nation came at The Oval in September 2018 when he smashed 149 runs off 224 deliveries in the fourth innings of the Test match. Rahul will hope for more such knocks as India seek redemption in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.