35 years after Kapil Dev captained India in a Test match, Jasprit Bumrah is most likely to follow in his footsteps and lead India in the upcoming rescheduled fifth Test match against England which begins in Edgbaston on July 1.

With KL Rahul out of the Indian team due to injury and now Rohit Sharma contracting Covid-19 just days ahead of the Test match, Bumrah could be the unlikely option for Indian team management as captain.

Rohit is in isolation at the team hotel and if the same protocols are followed as for the ongoing England-New Zealand series it would be for a period of five days. The Test starts on July 1.

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A BCCI statement said: "Team India captain Mr Rohit Sharma has tested positive for COVID-19 following a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) conducted on Saturday. He is currently in isolation at the team hotel and is under the care of the BCCI Medical Team. An RT-PCR test will be conducted on Sunday to ascertain his CT value."

Earlier this year, Bumrah has been promoted as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the three-match ODI series in South Africa. In the press conference, the pace spearhead had then said that if the opportunity comes, he is ready to take up the India captaincy.

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“If given an opportunity, it would be an honor. I don’t think any player would say no. There’s no bigger feeling than that. I don’t like to chase things because I don’t want to… See I am a person who believes that God has a plan and everything will find out its own way, so I don’t like to hamper the plan that is there. I try to never change anything,” Bumrah had said then.

If Rohit Sharma is actually ruled out of the Test match, the Indian team will also need to pick a stand-in opener. India might have to go with stand-in opener Hanuma Vihari, who’s done it before or there might be an outside chance for KS Bharat.

(Indian Express inputs)