‘Shocking’ Jasprit Bumrah snub leaves Agarkar battered over India selection: ‘Then choose your vice-captain carefully'

[rollingstoned]

‘Shocking’ Jasprit Bumrah snub leaves Agarkar battered over India selection: ‘Then choose your vice-captain carefully'

Reports indicated Jasprit Bumrah did make a strong case for himself to be the next India captain, but injury struggles saw him fall behind in the race.

Jasprit Bumrah(AFP)

 

When Rohit Sharma was announced as the Test captain three years back, Jasprit Bumrah was named among the players who could potentially take over the reins in the future. The fast bowler instantly became a certainty in the race after he was named as the captain in the rescheduled Birmingham Test against England in 2022. Two years later, in November, in Perth, Bumrah led India to their only win on a rather forgettable 2024/25 Australia tour.

 

When the speculation over Rohit's future in Test cricket began in the wake of the loss in the Border-Gavaskar series, Bumrah was strongly backed by experts to be the next captain. Yet when the 37-year-old eventually drew curtains on his Test career on May 7, Shubman Gill led the narrative in who would become the next skipper, with media reports hinting that he had the backing of the BCCI.

 

 

The reports indicated Bumrah did make a strong case for himself to replace Rohit, but injury struggles saw him fall behind in the race. However, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lashed out at the narrative as he questioned the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee's logic behind naming Bumrah the vice-captain for the Australia tour, when he was not in the race to become the next skipper.

"I am shocked that we are looking at any other option other than Bumrah as Test captain! Worried about his injuries? Then choose your vice captain carefully," he tweeted.

Bumrah also has Gavaskar, Ashwin's backing

It's not just Manjrekar, India legends Sunil Gavaskar and Ravichandran Ashwin also reckon the fast bowler should be the next captain.

"The team that will tour England will be a completely new team, a transformed team where Bumrah will probably be the senior-most player. He is obviously one of the captaincy options; I think he deserves the captaincy, but the selectors will make a decision based on his physical capacity," Ashwin said on his YouTube show 'Ash Ki Baat'.

Gavaskar, speaking to Sports Today, dismissed workload concerns around the injury-prone pacer, as he put his weight behind Bumrah.

"Jasprit Bumrah for me... if you appoint somebody else, they will always want an extra over from Bumrah because he's your number one bowler capable of taking a wicket any time, you want that extra over.

"But Bumrah being the captain himself would know that 'look, this is the time that I must take a break. Yes, I've got a wicket in my previous over but my body says to me that I need a break'," he explained his reasons.

"So for me, it's got to be Bumrah only. I know there's kind of speculation going on about workload, but give it to him so he knows exactly how many overs to bowl, when to take himself off, when to sort of rest. So that would be the best thing," he said.

[Ultimate_Game]

Deserved to be the captain. I would pick Bumrah as the captain and Iyer as vice-captain. Enough of star batters getting captaincy when they don't even deserve their spot in the team.

[Gollum]

Bumrah doesn't have the PR machinery to become a superstar. Also a straightforward, humble guy without any insecurity, jealousy problems. Gill is very cunning/crooked, but without half the batting ability of our previous batting superstars. He shouldn't even be In the test (or T20I) squad. 

[Gollum]

Gambhir is a fool if he thinks he can control a guy like Gill. Some reports saying it is Gambhir who is pushing the case for Gill, since Bumrah was challenging some of his calls in previous series. GG wants full control over the test team, despite his shocking resume as coach in that format. 

[rollingstoned]

1 hour ago, Gollum said:

Gambhir is a fool if he thinks he can control a guy like Gill. Some reports saying it is Gambhir who is pushing the case for Gill, since Bumrah was challenging some of his calls in previous series. GG wants full control over the test team, despite his shocking resume as coach in that format. 

If one expects a coach to be comfortable with a familiar face then the money is on KL since he was captain under him at LSG. If Bumrah's fitness goes against him then that might happen.

[New guy]

4 hours ago, Gollum said:

Bumrah doesn't have the PR machinery to become a superstar. Also a straightforward, humble guy without any insecurity, jealousy problems. Gill is very cunning/crooked, but without half the batting ability of our previous batting superstars. He shouldn't even be In the test (or T20I) squad. 

Yep, it was like when Kumble was playing. Random nobody batsmen used to get big sponsors and this legend didn't. 

[cricketfan28]

Not a bowling loving nation...sad.

[Gollum]

17 hours ago, New guy said:

Yep, it was like when Kumble was playing. Random nobody batsmen used to get big sponsors and this legend didn't. 

Bowlers have never been respected in this land. Kapil's case was different because he was an AR with swashbuckling batting style, and the 83 win, 175 knock, B&H SF blitz etc. defined his legacy. 

 

But apart from him, who? As you rightly pointed about Kumble, that guy was our greatest matchwinner in the 90s and 00s, and the most lion-hearted cricketer one can find. Even others like Gupte, Bedi, Prasanna, Chandra, Ashwin, Jadeja....all sidekicks when their contribution deserved main cast status. This year's CT win was largely due to Chakri (ace throughout the tournament), and Kuldeep's performance in the final......did they get enough plaudits? 

 

If a generational genius like Bumrah can't get following (his endorsement rates are below that of even KL Rahul, forget Ro-Ko, Dhoni), no hope man. Compare that with how Aussies treat Cummins, who IMO is not as good as Boom. Bowlers are the Dalits of Indian cricket but even more unfortunate, no reservation or extra benefits, only gadha mazdoori. Even the horses for courses chwtiyapa is applied only to bowlers, never the batting maharathis who can get away with tailenderesque stats for years on end. No wonder we have historically underachieved in this sport. 

Edited May 16, 2025 by Gollum

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