India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah has long been regarded as a captaincy candidate for the Indian cricket team, and he has recently declared his desire to lead the squad. In a recent interview, Bumrah stated that it is high time that bowlers be considered captaincy candidates, even referring to them as the ‘smart ones’. During the interaction, the right-arm pacer also used the examples of legendary captains like Kapil Dev and Imran Khan, who went on to win the World Cup.

Basit Ali, a former Pakistan cricketer, feels Bumrah should focus on being an all-round player rather than pursuing captaincy. He pointed out that Imran and Kapil were well-known all-rounders then, unlike Bumrah. Jasprit Bumrah’s statement is just like how Babar Azam likes captaincy. In my opinion, he should not chase captaincy. He is a top-class bowler and should be focusing just on that, Basit said on his YouTube Channel.

He gave the examples of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan’s captaincy. However, they had become all-rounders, which is why they succeeded as captains. They were not appointed captains when they came into their teams as bowlers. This is the difference between a bowler and an all-rounder, Basit stated. Bumrah has already led the Indian cricket team in a Test match against England in 2022. However, things did not go to plan as India was defeated in the encounter.

My best wishes to Bumrah. There is a chance that he could be made the captain after the Champions Trophy. Basit concluded by saying that very few fast bowlers have made great captains or coaches in international cricket.