Bumrah as captain? Ex-India stumper feels star pacer 'definitely has intelligence & credentials' for top job

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter and captain of Jasprit Bumrah’s Ranji team, feels that the star pacer has what it takes to be India’s full-time captain in the future. Bumrah made his Test captaincy debut for India against England last month in Birmingham and impressed with his individual show despite India’s defeat.
Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah made his Test captaincy debut for India against England last month.

Photo : ANI
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Jasprit Bumrah became India’s 36th Test captain last month.
  • He led the Indian team against England in the fifth Test at Edgbaston.
  • Bumrah is one of the players who is seen as an ideal replacement for Rohit Sharma as captain in the future.
In the absence of COVID-positive Rohit Sharma and injured KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah was handed the responsibility of leading India against England in the one-off Test at Edgabston last month. In his maiden game as India's red-ball skipper, Bumrah dazzled with both bat and ball to make it a memorable game for him on a personal note, but it wasn’t enough to help India get the better of the hosts and secure a historic series triumph in England.
India lost the game by 7 wickets on the fifth day as England chased down the target of 378 runs with ease. Despite India’s defeat, Bumrah’s display earned him plaudits from fans and former greats. Bumrah picked up a total of five wickets in the game (3 in the first innings and 2 in the second innings) and created a new world record in Test cricket when he hammered English pacer Stuart Broad for 35 runs in one over.
In 2022, India tried as many as seven players as captain, and according to former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel, when in the future, Rohit will move out, then Bumrah could be an ideal candidate to take the top job, and he does have in him what it takes to be the heir to Rohit as India's future captain.
The 37-year-old recalled how a young Bumrah made his debut for Gujarat when he was the captain. The way Bumrah used to plan his wickets impressed the then-Gujarat captain, Patel, and that was enough for Patel to realise that the pacer had a great cricketing brain.
"Jasprit Bumrah made his debut for Gujarat under my captaincy. So I had the opportunity to interact with him a number of times about how he wanted to set up a batter to take his wicket. That spoke volumes about how intelligent he is in taking cricketing decisions. Although India lost the Test under his captaincy, he definitely has the intelligence and credentials to be looked at as the future India captain," Patel said in a video on his YouTube channel, explaining why he felt Bumrah could be India's future full-time captain.
Even though Patel has pushed Bumrah’s name into the fray, he feels that the three main players who are auditioning to become India's next full-time captain are Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul.
"Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have both been a 'work in progress' as captains. With every passing game, their captaincy is improving and they, along with Hardik, are the three contenders I feel who will replace Rohit Sharma as India's next captain."
All three have captained India in the past and have had moderate success as well. Hardik’s credentials are also boosted by the fact that he has won the IPL title as well in his first season as full-time captain. But as Ravi Shastri revealed some time back, Hardik might quit ODI cricket after next year’s World Cup. And if that happens, then his chances will be in jeopardy as India has always preferred to have the same captain in both white ball formats of the game, and that’s why Kohli also had to give up ODI leadership last year.
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