Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in Birmingham Test as Rohit Sharma tests positive for COVID again: Reports 

Experienced pacer Jasprit Bumrah is all set to lead the Indian team in the rescheduled Test against England in Birmingham in the place of Rohit Sharma.

According to reports, regular skipper Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the match, which starts on July 1, after testing positive for COVID-19 for the second time on Wednesday (June 29).

28-year-old Bumrah will become the first pacer in 35 years to lead India in a Test match. The legendary Kapil Dev was the last fast bowler to captain India in the longer format of the game back in 1987.

A report by news agency PTI quoted a senior BCCI official as saying:

"Rohit is out of this Test match, starting July 1, as his RT-PCR test has come positive again. He is still in isolation. Jasprit Bumrah, who is one of the vice-captains in the absence of KL Rahul, will lead the team.”

Before Rohit, KL Rahul was also ruled out of the rescheduled Test due to a groin injury. The absence of Rohit and Rahul will be a major setback for India as they were the team’s leading run-getters during the previous Test series in England.

While Rohit Sharma had scored 368 runs at an average of 52.57, Rahul contributed 315 runs at an average of just under 40.

Bumrah is set to become the 36th cricketer to lead India in Test matches. He has so far claimed 123 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 21.73 in the traditional format of the game. He was also the leading wicket-taker for India during the previous Test series in England, claiming 18 scalps at an average of 20.83.

Speaking after being named vice-captain for the ODI series in South Africa earlier this year, the seasoned pacer had said:

“If given an opportunity (to lead India), it would be an honor. I don’t think any player would say no. There’s no bigger feeling than that.”

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Who will open the innings in Rohit Sharma’s absence?

With Rohit Sharma being ruled out, Cheteshwar Pujara or Hanuma Vihari could open the innings in the Birmingham Test. Pujara has opened the batting in five Tests, in which he has scored 395 runs. He even has a century to his name as a Test opener - 145* versus Sri Lanka in Colombo in September 2015.

Vihari has opened the batting in one Test match for India - the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in December of 2018. He did not contribute heavily but occupied the crease for a decent amount of time. The resilient batter scored 8 off 66 in the first innings and 13 off 45 in the second.

India have also brought in Mayank Agarwal as cover for Rohit but according to reports, he is not in contention to open the innings in the Test in Birmingham.