Jasprit Bumrah in action© AFP
Team India is ready to face Sri Lanka in a white-ball series, which will kick-start from Saturday with a three T20I matches. After the retirement of skipper Rohit Sharma from the shortest format, there was a lot of chatter regarding a perfect replacement for the captaincy. As it appeared, all-rounder Hardik Pandya was looking like an obvious choice but the newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar named batter Suryakumar Yadav as the captain for the T20Is against Sri Lanka.
After the announcement, some discussions are going on about star pacer Jasprit Bumrah not being considered for the position of the captain. Bumrah, who played a vital role in India's victory at the T20 World Cup 2024, opened up about the situation and gave a fiery response.
"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 said on the Indian Express Adda.
"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 challengers, 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.
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," he added.