New Delhi: Indian team captain Rohit Sharma’s Corona Test on Wednesday came back positive and he has been ruled out of the lone Test against England from July 1 and will be replaced by fast bowler Jaspreet. Bumrah can be seen at the helm of the Indian team. Earlier, Rohit’s rapid antigen test was positive and now his RT-PCR test has also been positive.
A senior BCCI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told PTI that Rohit Sharma’s RT-PCR test was positive again and he has been dropped from the test starting July 1 and is currently in isolation. In this situation, in the absence of KL Rahul, another vice-captain of the team, Jaspreet Bumrah, will lead the team.
After 35 years, a fast bowler will be seen at the helm of Team India
Last year’s fifth Test against England, which starts in Birmingham on July 1, could see a fast bowler lead the Indian team after a long gap of 35 years. Rohit Sharma’s corona test has come back positive and he has been ruled out of the Test and in the absence of KL Rahul, Jaspreet Bumrah is likely to lead the team in this Test. If that happens, he will become the second fast bowler in the last 35 years after Kapil Dev to lead Team India.
Bumrah will be the 36th captain to lead Team India in Test history
If Jaspreet Bumrah leads the Test team in the Birmingham Test against England from July 1, he will be the 36th captain in the Indian team’s Test history since 1932. The Gujarat fast bowler has taken 123 wickets in 29 Tests and is considered one of the best fast bowlers in the world. Chetan Sharma, chairman of the selection committee, has already named him as the future captain.
Cheteshwar Pujara or Hanuma Vihari will come in the opening with Shubhaman Gill
With veteran Rohit Sharma out of the final XI of the Tests, veteran Cheteshwar Pujara has a good chance to start the innings with Shubhaman Gill. Sources said Mayank Agarwal has been called in only as a cover and as far as the playing XI is concerned, Mayank is not involved in the scheme. Sources say that only the Gill-Pujara duo will make the opening, there is also a possibility that Hanuma Vihari may start the innings with Gill, but Pujara’s name is almost certain.
The only dilemma in the Indian team combination, Ashwin or Shardul
The Indian team’s XI is almost certain for the fifth Test against England. With 10 players in place, the only dilemma is whether to play Ravichandran Ashwin as the second spinner or fast bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur. Looking at the team composition, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubhaman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant are the five specialist batsmen. Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj have been automatically selected along with Jaspreet Bumrah as the three fast bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja has also been named as a spinner and either Ashwin or Shardul will be included for the remaining one spot.
