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Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah admitted that he was considered as captain for the Test team, after Rohit Sharma’s retirement, but gave up the opportunity as part of his workload management.
Speaking to former Indian cricketer and broadcaster Dinesh Karthik in an interview with Sky Sports CricketBumrah, who has led India in two Tests, explained the thought process behind the decision ahead of the five-match Test series against England, where the team will be led by Shubman Gill.
“There’s no fancy stories to it. There is no controversy or a headline statement that I was sacked. During the IPL, I had spoken to the BCCI about my workload going forward in a five-match series. I’ve spoken to the people who have managed my back, I’ve spoken to the surgeon as well, who’s always spoken to me about how smart you have to be about the workloads.
And then we came to the conclusion that I have to be a little smarter. So then I called the BCCI and said I don’t want to be looked at in a leadership role, because I won’t be able to play all matches coming to a five-match Test series,” said Bumrah.
Bumrah also explained the necessity for leadership continuity, particularly in a long series, like the one coming up against England.
“The BCCI was looking at me at (a) leadership (role). But then I had to say no as it’s not fair for the team as well. It’s not fair to the team if in a five-Test series, three matches somebody is leading and two matches somebody else is leading. I always wanted to put the team first, even if me being there as a player offers a lot more just not as a captain.
Captaincy is a position. But you always have leaders in the team and I wanted to do (that). Obviously, if I’m not careful, I don’t know about the future, and I don’t want to be in a situation where I have to abruptly go away from this format,“ added Bumrah.
Bumrah also confessed how much he valued Test captaincy, but also underscored that he loves cricket more than captaining the side.
“Captaincy meant a lot. I had worked very hard for it. But, unfortunately, sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. I love cricket more than captaincy, so I want to contribute more as a cricketer and to the Indian team as a player. Obviously ambitions are there. But that’s how it is, and I called the BCCI and said that I don’t want to be looked at in a leadership role,” said the Indian quick.
