Jasprit Bumrah named captain for 5th India vs England Test, Rohit Sharma ruled out

Source: Twitter

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named Team India's captain for the fifth and last rescheduled Test vs England at Edgbaston that starts on July 1. Rohit Sharma misses out after series positive Covid-19 tests. Head coach Rahul Dravid wanted to give Rohit all the time to recover before the Test but it seems the recovery is not possible. BCCI also confirmed that Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain in the upcoming Test. 

NEWS _ - @Jaspritbumrah93 to lead #TeamIndia in the fifth Test Match against England.@RishabhPant17 will be the vice-captain for the match.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ueWXfOMz1L

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 30, 2022

Dravid, a day before, had told the Indian media that they are giving Rohit all the chance to recover in time. Rohit was to be tested on Thursday morning as well. And it seems his results have come positive again, ruling him out of the all-importat fifth Test. Not to forget, India are leading the series 2-1 and will need either a win or a draw to clinch the series for the first time since 2007-08. 

Bumrah has become the 36th Test captain for India and also the first pacer in many years. The last time a pacer captained an Indian Test team was Kapil Dev. The Edgbaston Test will be a big opportunity for Bumrah, who played 29 Tests and has 123 wickets to his name. The last bowler who captained India was Anil Kumble who captained India in 14 Tests after Dravid stepped down in 2007. 

Earlier, England cricket team announced their playing XI for the fifth and last Test vs India. Led by Ben Stokes, England will have the services of both of their veteran pace bowlers Stuar Broad and James Anderson while young Matthew Potts who did well against series in New Zealand has also made it to final XI. Joe Root, Stokes, Jonny Bairstow make a soli middle order while Jack Leach is the lone spinner in the team. 

England Team v India: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Sam Billings (w), Matthew Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson.