Sunil Gavaskar has urged India to hand over the captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah for the entire 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy if Rohit Sharma is doubtful for the initial part of the series.
Rohit’s participation in the series opener in Perth from November 22 is doubtful due to personal reasons, with unconfirmed reports indicating the imminent birth of his child. Gavaskar feels India need to be united under one captain after their humiliating 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand, their first series defeat at home since 2012.
Speaking to Sports Tak, Gavaskar reckoned that should Rohit miss the first few Tests, India should opt for a different captain for the entirety of the tour. In that case, the side’s vice-captain, Jasprit Bumrah, should take over from Rohit, according to Gavaskar.
"See, the captain needs to play the first Test. If he is injured, then it’s different. But if your leader is unavailable in the first battle, then a different kind of pressure mounts on the deputy leader. It wouldn't be easy if he had to take the responsibility of captaincy. You need to have clarity. The leader needs to be there for his team, especially when we have lost 0-3 against New Zealand," Gavaskar said.
New Zealand's 3-0 whitewash of India was a result no one saw coming.
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He added: "We have been reading that Rohit Sharma will not play in the first Test, perhaps he will not play in the second as well. If this is the case, then I say that, right now, the Indian selection committee should say that 'if you have to rest, rest, if there are personal reasons then look at them. But if you are missing two-thirds of the matches then you should go for this tour only as a player. We will make the vice-captain the captain of this tour'
"Indian cricket is the most important. I would say that if we had won the New Zealand series 3-0, it would have been a different matter. Because we have lost this series 0-3, there is a need for a captain. The captain has to unite the team. If there is no captain in the beginning, it is better to make someone else the captain."
The series loss against New Zealand complicated India’s chances of reaching the 2023-25 World Test Championship final. That makes the Australia tour even more crucial, with them needing to win at least four out of five Tests to avoid depending on other results for qualification.
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