IND Vs ENG Fifth Test: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma tests Covid-19 positive in a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) conducted by BCCI on Saturday. A statement by BCCI specified that he has been put into isolation and will be under medical check.
An RT-PCR test has been scheduled for him on Sunday to see how severe it is or there are chances he might miss the first and the last test starting from July 1 at Edgbaston.
If that would be the case, there might be chances that pacer Jasprit Bumrah may get a nod for test captaincy as regular vice-captain KL Rahul too isn’t available due to a groin injury.
Bumrah will become the first pacer to lead the Indian test team in 35 years after Kapil Dev led them in 1987.
If Rohit misses the one-off test, it will be a huge loss to the visitors as already they have lost their vice-captain Rahul and now can’t afford the absence of Rohit. It can be said with the fact that Rohit was the top run-scorer in the first 4 tests India played last year in August.
In the 8 innings he played last year, the Indian skipper amassed 368 runs with an average of 52.57 with his first overseas hundred at ‘The Oval’.
He along with his partner Rahul had some good starts on English soil which helped other batters too as the game proceeded. But now, as both of them are unavailable (most probably) it will pounder some huge responsibility on the shoulders of young opener Shubman Gill.
India’s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah is all set to replicate the feat of Kapil Dev in becoming the first Indian pacer after the veteran to lead the Indian test team. If he gets a green signal from BCCI, he will become the first pacer to do so in 35 years after Kapil last led India in March 1987.
Earlier, in the South Africa tour; the pacer was named as the deputy of the KL Rahul after Rohit missed that series too. He has said then too that he is ready to take up the challenge of Indian captaincy and that it’s a big honor to lead India.
If given chance, it would be interesting to watch how Bumrah fares as a test captain in whites.
By: Mohit Singhal
