"I won't be surprised if he takes over very soon" - India legend on next Test captain after BGT 2024-25

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has backed Jasprit Bumrah to take over the captaincy reigns from Rohit Sharma after the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The 75-year-old pointed out how Bumrah led from the front in the five-match series with 32 scalps.

He talked about how the ace pacer managed his bowlers with excellent fielding positions like mid-on and mid-on, which was quite evident during Australia captain Ricky Ponting's era.

It's worth mentioning that Bumrah led India to a 295-run win in the series opener in Perth. He then led the tourists in the fifth and final Test in Sydney but couldn't bowl in the second innings due to a back spasm. This has raised questions whether Bumrah is fit to lead the side due to the injury conerns in his career. However, Gavaskar didn't look concerned about the same.

The cricketer-turned-commentator told Channel 7 (via The Times of India):

"He will be the next man, because he leads from the front. He's got a very good air about him, the air of a leader, but he’s not somebody who's going to put pressure on you. Sometimes you have captains who put a lot of pressure on you."

"With Bumrah you can see that he expects the others to do what their job is, why they are in the national team, but he doesn't seem to pressurise anybody. With the fast bowlers, he's been absolutely brilliant, standing at mid-off, mid-on, and every time just being at hand to tell them. I think he was absolutely brilliant, and I won't be surprised if he takes over very soon," he added.

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"They didn’t have a first-change bowler" - Sunil Gavaskar on lack of Jasprit Bumrah's bowling partners for India in 2024-25 BGT

Sunil Gavaskar further pointed out how India lacked proper pacers to partner Jasprit Bumrah throughout the Test series. Citing the examples of Pat Cummins and Scott Boland, Gavaskar said in the same interaction:

"From the other end, it looked a little bit easier to bat, and I think India probably suffered from the fact that they didn't have a first-change bowler like Australia had - Pat Cummins and then (Scott) Boland coming in to bowl."

Gavaskar added how Bumrah's absence made the job easier for Australia while chasing 162 in the fourth innings of the fifth Test in Sydney. He opined:

"So there was support for the opening bowlers. Bumrah, unfortunately, was pretty much fighting a lone battle. What a difference it would have made if Bumrah was available to bowl in that final innings in Sydney. Even an early spell of four or five overs, who knows which way the match would have gone."

BCCI would be hoping that Bumrah is fit for the upcoming ICC 2025 Champions Trophy.