Virat Kohli Refuses to Lead Team India After Rohit Sharma Steps Down in Final BGT Test: Reports

In a big change, Virat Kohli was asked to be the captain for the Test matches when Rohit Sharma chose not to play in the last Border Gavaskar Trophy Test. Rohit had a poor series with only 31 runs from five innings and an average of a mere 6.20. Being under pressure with the team, he volunteered to bench himself. This left a captaincy vacancy, leaving India's head coach Gautam Gambhir eager to make Kohli a skipper. But Kohli refused, and Gambhir chose Jasprit Bumrah as India's Sydney skipper.

Gautam Gambhir wanted Virat Kohli to captain the team in Australia, as per CricBlogger. But Kohli has personally opted not to be captain anymore. Recently, he was offered the position twice. In one of his solitary Ranji Trophy matches, he would have been able to captain the Delhi team but chose not to. Ayush Badoni continued to captain the side instead. Also, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) appointed Rajat Patidar as captain for IPL 2025. Kohli, who was also in the race, once again said no.

According to reports, there is a difference of opinion as to who should be the next Test captain. It was a clear indication of what India’s Test future could be like when Rohit Sharma skipped himself during the crucial BGT series. It is still unknown whether he will play in the upcoming series and especially the Test tour of England in June. In the meantime, the team management has its own views on how the next captain should be groomed.

Word has it that Gambhir favors Jasprit Bumrah as the permanent Test captain and even thinks Yashasvi Jaiswal would be a great deputy. On the other hand, the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, is looking at Rishabh Pant to take on the role of Test leader. However, Agarkar is worried about Bumrah’s injury issues.

Kohli vs Rohit: A Test Captaincy Showdown