File photo of MS Dhoni (L), Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (R).© AFP
Jasprit Bumrah, India's premier fast bowler, has named the player who he thinks is the greatest Indian cricket captain ever. Bumrah, who made his India debut in 2016 after impressing with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, has played under the leadership of some of the finest cricketers to have played for India. He made his debut under the watchful eyes of MS Dhoni, who is the only Indian captain to win all three ICC white-ball tournaments. He then transitioned himself into an all-format bowler as India dominated the world of Test cricket during Virat Kohli's reign.
Now, playing under Rohit Sharma who was his captain at MI until IPL 2023, Bumrah recenlty played a crucial role in India lifting the T20 World Cup.
While answering a rapid-fire question on "the greatest Indian cricket captain ever", Bumrah, to everyone's surprise, picked his own name.
"See, my favourite captain is me because I have captained a few games. Obviously, there are great captains but I would take my name that I am my favourite captain," Bumrah told the Indian Express.
For the unversed, Bumrah has already captained India in Tests and T20Is -- a Test against England and two T20Is against Ireland.
On sharing his views why batters are preferred for captaincy over the bowlers, Bumrah added: "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."