Former Australia great Adam Gilchrist has speculated that Rohit Sharma might retire from international cricket after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He also stated that one between Jasprit Bumrah or Virat Kohli to lead the Test team during India's next assignment in June.
One of the most hotly debated topics following India's catastrophic trip to Australia, in which the team fell 1-3 and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in eight years, was Rohit's future.
It has been questioned if he will stay captain even if selected for the visit to England, which will mark the start of the new World Test Championship cycle.
Gilchrist stated that he does not see Rohit in the Indian team for the Test series in England and expects the 37-year-old to retire after the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19.
"I don't see Rohit going to England. I just felt that he said he would assess it when he got home. I mean, the first thing he will be met with when he gets home is a two-month-old baby that he has to change the nappies on. Now that might incentivise him to go to England. But I know I don't; I don't see him pressing on. I think he'll probably have a crack at the Champions Trophy and that might be. That might see him out,” Gilchrist said on the Club Prairie Fire podcast.
Gilchrist then proposed Bumrah as a replacement for Rohit as India's next Test captain but acknowledged that the pacer's workload problems could make the task difficult.
He confessed that he would not be surprised if the Indian selectors return to Kohli, who led the Indian squad in Bumrah's absence on Days 2 and 3 of the Sydney Test for the England series.
"I don't know whether Bumrah should be full-time captain. I reckon that might get a little bit challenging for him. So, who that next captain may be is anyone's guess whether they go back to Virat. I wouldn't be surprised if he wouldn't mind doing it. But yeah, I haven't stopped to really think about who will be captain.
It's a challenging period coming up for India. They've got ready-made replacements. I mean, the IPLs have produced a number of talented players that are lined up across every position, 1 to 11 really, that they could draw on. But it doesn't mean that it's instant success at the international level. So I think they could be in for a challenging little period," he added.
On the other hand, Michael Vaughan backed Gilchrist's notion to name Bumrah the next captain based on India's performance under the fast bowler in Perth, which was India's only win in the last eight Test matches.
"I think you're right. I would give the captain seat to Jasper Bumrah, and the reason is the two performances that India were at their finest here in Australia were Perth and the SCG. And if he had not been injured, I honestly think they would have won that game," he said.
Vaughan also named Shubman Gill as the vice-captain but reckoned the youngster needed to improve his numbers.
"I'd have someone like Shubman Gill as the vice-captain, and Mark Howard calls him the elegant one. Now the elegant one needs to understand that getting 20 to 30 elegantly is not going to be a test career. Averaging over 45 which I think he's got the game to do," he added.
India’s next assignment will be the home white-ball series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
