“It's a no-brainer for me” - Sanjay Manjrekar picks India’s Test captain for series in England

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has backed Jasprit Bumrah to take over as the next captain of the Indian Test team. This comes after India’s 3-1 loss to Australia, which saw them fail to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.

The visitors’ only victory in the series came under Bumrah's leadership, as they defeated Australia by 295 runs in Perth. The 31-year-old also took over as captain in the fifth Test after regular skipper Rohit Sharma pulled out due to his poor form.

Unfortunately, Bumrah himself was struck by injury, suffering a back spasm that forced him to leave the field during Australia’s first innings. While he came out to bat in India’s second innings, he couldn’t take the field for the final innings of the match, much to the disappointment of both him and the fans.

Looking ahead, India’s next Test series will be against England, starting June 20 in Leeds. With uncertainty surrounding Rohit’s future, Manjrekar has reiterated his support for Bumrah to assume the captaincy. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, the 59-year-old said [as quoted by India Today]:

"It's a no-brainer for me. The next Test series is in England and Bumrah has to be the Test captain. Rohit Sharma as a batter has not done enough considering the loss to NZ at home plus he opted out of the playing XI because he did not fit in. There are too many uncertainties around him and I think that Bumrah is at the top of his game. There was nothing in the Australia series that we saw that he is not captaincy material.”

Regarding Bumrah's fitness, Manjrekar noted that with the packed cricket schedule, the team management will need to carefully select the key series and make sure to appoint Bumrah as captain for those crucial matches.

"When he is unfit or missing we will think about who will lead the team next. There is so much of international cricket happening. You have to see and pick out which ones you are going to play. He can be rested in the bilaterals in the home series. Pick out your marquee series, and make Bumrah captain in those," he said.

The former cricketer also said that he has no idea who will be the vice-captain, but believes the choice should be based on the player’s performance.

“The choice of vice-captain is important, I have no idea who will be. But I know that there are guys who should not be. There are guys who would want to be, but the first thing you want is that the vice-captain should walk into the team based on their performances. There were talks of Shubman Gill walking in as a vice-captain in Australia, but look how that has changed," he said.

So far, Bumrah has captained India in three Tests, winning one and losing two.

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Jasprit Bumrah has a brilliant record in Test cricket

Jasprit Bumrah made his Test debut in 2018 against South Africa and has since become India's go-to bowler, excelling not just in Tests but across all formats. He has played 45 Test matches, taking 205 wickets, including 13 five-wicket hauls.

Additionally, the ace pacer has claimed 238 wickets in 159 matches across the two white-ball formats.