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There is a heated argument. Is it appropriate for Jasprit Bumrah to be chosen as India’s permanent Test captain? Or ought the team’s management to take a chance on a younger player, like Shubman Gill? The selection committee will convene in the coming days to choose a team for what looks to be a challenging trip as India begins their second ICC World Test Championship cycle with a five-match series in England in less than a month. The visiting group will lose their wealth of expertise as a result of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma leaving Test cricket; therefore, whoever is hired to be the head coach will have a difficult job.

As the official Test vice-captain, Bumrah seems to be the most probable replacement given the current situation. He has captained India while Rohit was unavailable, most notably during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. Concerns over the fast bowler’s availability and fitness for the duration of the England visit are growing, however.

Bumrah was out for a considerable amount of time due to a back ailment he sustained toward the conclusion of the Australia tour earlier this year. It was the most recent setback for the Indian pace leader, whose involvement has often been restricted lately because of a number of fitness concerns.

To make sure he doesn’t sustain another injury, the team management will probably restrict his workload moving ahead. As a result, he will be rested throughout the five-match Test series in England.

Sanjay Bangar, a former all-rounder and batting coach for India, believes that Bumrah might not be the next Test captain because the team management is likely to apply the same standard that they did when they chose Suryakumar Yadav for T20I captaincy over Hardik Pandya, despite the latter’s qualifications as a leader.

When Suryakumar was selected as the T20I captain, Hardik Pandya was used as a benchmark. The rationale for this was that Hardik had fitness concerns and may not be available. As a result, we are considering a player who will undoubtedly be included in the starting lineup. Bangar said on ESPNcricinfo that this is the reason Surya was promoted to the T20I leadership.

“Now, Jasprit might have to miss out if we equate that way of thinking with Test captaincy as well,” he said.

KL Rahul may be the team’s leader in the next WTC cycle, according to Bangar.

“Rahul has proved himself as a test batsman and has scored several significant runs for India at the top of the order. He would thus participate in every Test match (in England), and the majority of his hundreds or high scores, have occurred in international matches, according to Bangar.

Therefore, his talent is unquestionable under any circumstances, for that matter. Additionally, he is young—not that elderly. To put it another way, a WTC cycle lasts for two years. Rahul is now thirty-one or thirty-two, I believe. It’s obvious that he can play the whole cycle,” he said.