Jasprit Bumrah is set to become the first fast bowler in 35 years to lead the Indian Test team in the rescheduled fifth Test against England as regular skipper Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the game.

Notably, Rohit had tested COVID-19 positive last Saturday (June 25). He was racing against time to play the all-important Test match at Edgbaston but couldn’t recover in time.

“Mr Rohit Sharma, Captain, Indian Cricket Team is ruled out of the rescheduled fifth Test against England to be played from Friday. Rohit underwent a RAT Test on Thursday morning and returned a positive result for COVID-19,” BCCI said in a media release on the eve of the Test match.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Mr Jasprit Bumrah as captain for the upcoming Test and Mr Rishabh Pant as his deputy,” it added.

The last pacer captain that India had was the legendary Kapil Dev, who was sacked as skipper in 1987. Since then, Team India have never had a speedster leading the team in the longest format.

The rescheduled fifth Test is counted as the last match of India's 2021 series in England, which the visitors lead by 2-1. The fifth Test was postponed at the eleventh hour following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp.