Follow UsThe BCCI had appointed Shubman Gill as India’s new Test captain, with Rishabh Pant assisting him as the vice-captain for the five-match Test series against England, starting June 20 (Friday).
But it wasn’t as straightforward, with a lot of rumours surrounding why Jasprit Bumrah was nowhere close to a leadership role. While there was a lot of speculation, Bumrah revealed that there was ‘no fancy story’ or ‘controversy’ behind him not getting the leadership duties.
“There’s no fancy stories to it. There is no controversy or a headline statement that I was sacked,” Bumrah told Sky Sports Cricket.
So, what was the real reason behind India looking at Gill as the captain, and not Bumrah?
“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,” he added.
“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.”
Bumrah himself also confirmed that he might just take part in three Tests, and added that he always wanted to put the ‘team first before individual’.
“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.
It was under Bumrah’s captaincy that India triumphed over Australia on a pacy surface in Perth, stunning the Australian batters and the media. While insisting that there are ‘captaincy ambitions’, Bumrah insisted that he loves cricket more than captaincy.
“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.