Not Shubman Gill, R Ashwin bats for this India Pacer as Test Captain after Rohit, Virat Retirement

Add as a preferred source on Google

The Indian cricket has been hit by a double whammy after the departure of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the veteran duo announced their retirement from Test cricket.

After Rohit's decision last week to retire from Tests, Virat Kohli also called it quits on Monday (May 12) despite being persuaded by BCCI to continue in the England series.

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is surprised by the decisions of the India veterans and says he didn't expect the two players to retire together.

"I didn't have an idea that the two [Kohli and Rohit] would retire together. This will a testing time for Indian cricket, and I'll say this is truly now the beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash ki Baat.

Amid the high-voltage departures, the dwindling future of Indian Test cricket needs a leader. As per the reports, Shubman Gill is thought to be the successor, one who may sit on the throne left high and dry by Rohit Sharma.

Gill has been captaining Gujarat Titans in the IPL and is the designated vice-captain of the Indian team. But Ashwin has thrown forward Jasprit Bumrah's name, saying the India pacer deserves to lead the team. Bumrah has been India's driving soul across all formats with the ball. Although workload management is an issue for Bumrah, the former India player thinks the selectors will have to take the call.

"The team touring England will be a completely new team, a transformed team where Bumrah will probably be the senior-most player. He is an option, I think he deserves the captaincy, but the selectors will take a decision based on his physical capacity. You can't buy experience, like in these kinds of tours. Virat's energy and Rohit's composure will be missed," he added.