India should assign a new captain for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, stated Sunil Gavaskar. He has suggested that India should assign a new captain for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy if Rohit Sharma is unable to lead the team in the first two Tests in Australia. The former cricketer suggested that, in such a scenario, the vice captain—currently Jasprit Bumrah—should be appointed as the permanent captain for the entire series.

While talking to Sports Tak, Gavaskar stated, “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, '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. ”

The former batsman further stated, “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 3-0, 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 captainship against England in Birmingham in 2022 marked Bumrah’s first and only captaincy for the Test team to date. At that time, India chased a target of 378 and won by seven wickets. Needless to say, the strong opinion over Rohit’s participation on the BGT opening test is due to personal reasons.