Team India is gearing up to face Sri Lanka in a white-ball series, starting this Saturday with three T20 Internationals (T20Is). Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the T20I captaincy, much speculation existed about who would succeed him. While many saw all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the leading candidate, the newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have instead named batter Suryakumar Yadav as the captain for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Jasprit Bumrah reveals the reasons for not selected as captain

Following the announcement, there has been some debate about why star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was not considered for the captaincy. Bumrah, crucial in India’s triumph at the T20 World Cup 2024, has addressed the situation and responded with a strong statement.

“I cannot go to the team and tell, now you have to make me captain. It is above my pay grade. I feel the bowlers are the smart people, as we have to get the batters out. We are always fighting the odds as the ground are shorter, the bats are better. I don’t remember any article or technology coming to swing the ball a lot more. People enjoy the ball being thrown around and enjoy sixes being hit,” Bumrah speaks to Indian Express Adda.

Bumrah further mentioned bowlers are believed to be the primary asset when it comes to defend the mediocre totals and if somehow team loses the game, then every blame is used to be dumped on bowling departments which is not the parity. He gave certain legendary examples of Kapil Dev, Imran Khan who were the prominent bowlers of the teams and also captained their side.

“Because bowlers are doing the hard job. They are not hiding behind a bat. They are not hiding behind a flat wicket. When you lose a game, bowlers are blamed. It is a hard job. I take a lot of pride doing that job. You have to face a lot of challenges. Because of these challenges, bowlers find new ways to succeed. Fighting the odds make you a lot braver, leadership needs you to be brace. We have seen Pat Cummins doing really well. I have seen Wasim Akram captaining. Kapil Dev and Imran Khan have won a World Cup. Bowlers are the smart ones. Sometimes, physically it is stressful, that’s why leadership goes to batters. In my opinion, bowlers are the smart ones,” he added.

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Yorker king breaks the chains on general perception of  batters as captains

As per the popular belief bowlers are usually not seen as the team captains. However, Bumrah gave the example of Australia skipper Pat Cummins who led his team to ODI World Cup and World Test Championship titles.

“Perception changes with results. I came from a perception that this bowling action will not work, but now people try to copy it. You don’t try to say things; you let your results talk. Pat Cummins is a big example. I got a lot of positive results. He won the World Cup and WTC. I do not think it is a burden. When you play cricket, you want responsibility,” said Bumrah.

“You do not want to hide behind and be the backbencher. You have to be of the mindset that if you give me the ball, I will make the difference. I am of the opinion that there is no better thought than having responsibility. Injuries can happen to anyone,” Bumrah concluded.

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