New Delhi, May 13 -- Decorated off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has rooted for Jasprit Bumrah to take the captaincy mantle after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's sudden Test retirements left a leadership vacuum in India's red-ball setup.

Rohit bid adieu to Test cricket last Wednesday, and a couple of days later, Virat bid his farewell to the format with a heartfelt note on Instagram. Ashwin, who had no clue about India's batting bigwigs' intentions to retire together, feels "testing time" lies ahead for Indian cricket, and their decision "truly" marks the beginning of the 'Gautam Gambhir' era.

"I didn't have an idea that both [Rohit and Kohli] would retire together. This will be a testing time for Indian cricket, and I'll say this is truly...