Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in Birmingham Test

The BCCI on Thursday confirmed that pacer Jasprit Bumrah will captain India in the rescheduled Test against England in Birmingham starting on Friday. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be his deputy for the match.

Regular captain Rohit Sharma is currently in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 while vice-captain KL Rahul was ruled out of the multi-format series due to an injury.

"Rohit underwent a RAT Test on Thursday morning and returned a positive result for COVID-19," an official release said.

Bumrah becomes the first fast bowler in 35 years to lead India in the Test whites after Kapil Dev in 1987. 

Pacers have rarely been named Test captains in men's international cricket with Kapil, Imran Khan, Courtney Walsh and Wasim Akram being some of the exceptions to lead their sides for a considerable amount of time.

Recently, Australia bucked the trend by naming Pat Cummins to succeed wicketkeeper Tim Paine as the red-ball captain.

According to a report PTI on Thursday, India could open with Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubhman Gill with Hanuma Vihari likely to get a nod for a role in the middle order.