"Will become the natural choice" - Anil Kumble picks star bowler over Shubman Gill as India's ODI captain

Former India bowler and head coach Anil Kumble feels Jasprit Bumrah is a better fit for the ODI captaincy role than Shubman Gill for the time being, considering his importance and stature in the team. The Men in Blue will have to be prepared for a transition, including in the ODI format, which will need a new leader to steer things forward after Rohit Sharma's departure.

Shubman Gill is Team India's vice-captain in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025. But, it is to be noted that Jasprit Bumrah is not a part of the team after being ruled out due to a back injury. Despite the pacer's presence in the provisional squad, Gill was named Rohit Sharma's deputy.

Both captaincy candidates have led India in the past, albeit in different formats. Gill was named captain for the T20I series in Zimbabwe in 2024, while Bumrah has led in three Tests, including in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, and also in a bilateral series against Ireland in 2023.

Kumble named Bumrah as the 'natural' and 'automatic' choice for the ODI captaincy role in the future.

"Shubman is already in the leadership group, and eventually he will get to that captaincy. Now whether it will be immediately after Rohit leaves one-day cricket, or else Bumrah will come in, which is the automatic choice both for Test match cricket and the ODI format, because you hardly play ODIs now," Kumble said on ESPN Cricinfo.

"If you look at white-ball cricket, although the next World Cup is 2027, in between 2023 and now, we have hardly played one-day cricket. It's mostly been T20 format, where Suryakumar Yadav is already the captain. So, when you look at ODI format, to sort of look at Bumrah, and preserve him because he is very valuable, and try to utilize him for important tournaments. So, I think Bumrah will become the natural choice, but Shubman won't be far behind," he added.

Bumrah does not have List-A captaincy to his name so far, but Gill had scripted history after guiding India C to the finals of the 2019 Deodhar Trophy at the age of 20.

"They are new boys. I know they should be given responsibility. But let them earn it" - Team India captain Rohit Sharma on his successor

While not much has been made of Rohit Sharma's successor in ODI cricket, the prospect of a new leader in Tests could be on the horizon. Rohit Sharma is struggling to cement his place in the playing XI as a player in red-ball cricket, and his captaincy has been questionable too in the recent past.

When the prospect of his successor came up after Rohit Sharma opted out of the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Test in Sydney, he acknowledged that there were many candidates, but wanted them to prove their worth before being awarded the responsibility.

“It is difficult to say. It is very difficult to say. There are many boys. But I want them to understand the importance of cricket first. Understand the importance of this place. They are new boys. I know they should be given responsibility. But let them earn it. Let them play some hard-fought cricket for the next few years or whatever it is. Let them earn it," Rohit Sharma said on Star Sports (via Indian Express)

Bumrah's injury record has made him an unreliable prospect for a long-term Test captain. According to reports, the management is leaning towards younger options like Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal instead.