The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) had announced Team India's 16-member squad for the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, however, they failed to mention who was the vice-captain for the Test series.
While the BCCI social media handle on X (formerly twitter) had included the designated wicketkeeper and named Rohit Sharma as the captain, they did not a deputy for the first Test match against Bangladesh.
🚨 NEWS 🚨- Team India's squad for the 1st Test of the IDFC FIRST Bank Test series against Bangladesh announced.
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 8, 2024
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep… pic.twitter.com/pQn7Ll7k3X
This led to uncertainty and confusion among fans, prompting them to wonder if Jasprit Bumrah had been removed from the vice-captaincy role of the Indian test team.
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Who is India's vice-captain for Bangladesh Test series?
The BCCI has so far not provided any explanation for its decision to not mention the team's vice-captain during the announcement of India's squad for the first Test against Bangladesh.
During India's last Test series against England in March 2024, Bumrah was the team's vice-captain, however, since then there has been a lot of changes in the Indian team, most crucially the change of head coach from Rahul Dravid to the current head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Ahead of the Bangladesh series, the BCCI and chief selector Ajit Agarkar had made it mandatory for all Indian players to make themselves available for the Duleep Trophy, a four-day domestic.
They had made exceptions to the mandatory participation rule for three players - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Bumrah.
As a fast bowler and a key player in India's upcoming ICC tournaments, Test series against New Zealand and Australia, it made sense for Bumrah to be rested as a part of his workload management.
There were reports that his rest could be extended for the Bangladesh Test series, but he was named in the 16-memeber Test squad for the first Test anyway.
Has Jasprit Bumrah been removed from India's Test vice-captaincy role for the Bangladesh Test series?
The management's failure to provide a reason for failing to mention the vice-captain has fueled speculations on if a new deputy has been appointed.
The speculation is warrantied as Shubman Gill was appointed as the vice-captain for the white-ball series (ODI and T20Is) against Sri Lanka, under new head coach Gambhir.
Bumrah, who was rested for the Sri Lanka tour, will make his return to the Indian team for the first time since the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph and since Gambhir's appointment as India's head coach.
Earlier, Hardik Pandya was stripped off his captaincy role for India's T20I team. Agarkar justified the decision saying that the allrounder was prone to injury and the management wanted a player who will be available for all the games.
"We don't want a situation where a captain is injured, and we search for another player. We were lucky when Hardik was injured before the World Cup, and we had Rohit to take over. It becomes difficult for the coach and selectors then," he had said.
Supposedly, the same could be applied to Bumrah's case for the Test as he might not be available for all matches due to workload management, particularly during India's hectic Test cricket season in the coming months.
With the five-match tour of Australia in November for the Border Gavaskar trophy deemed as the most important Test series, the likes of Bumrah could be rested as the management would not want to risk their best player to potential injuries.
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