Ex-Pakistan batsman suggests Jasprit Bumrah to focus on bowling instead of captaincy

Jasprit Bumrah has led the Indian cricket team in Test Cricket and T20Is in the absence of the regular captains. The Indian pace star is always ready to lead the Men in Blue whenever the team needs him. Despite this, the ex-Pakistan batter Basit Ali thinks that Bumrah should concentrate on his bowling rather than focusing on the captaincy role. At the same time, the speedster feels that pace bowlers can become good captains and gives examples of Kapil Dev, Pat Cummins, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. 

In the meantime, Ali mentioned that Kapil and Imran were given captaincy roles after they proved themselves as all-rounders. 

“Bumrah shouldn’t chase captaincy, and he is a top-class bowler and should focus on his bowling. He spoke about Kapil Dev and Imran Khan, who were successful captains because of their all-around skills. The two didn’t get captaincy when they got into teams as bowlers. This is a difference between a bowler and an all-rounder,” he said.

Basit Ali also staged that the Aussie pacestar is a successful captain. However, he feels that only a few fast bowlers can succeed as captains or coaches. 

Notably, Bumrah played a pivotal role in Team India’s T20 WC 2024 triumph, clutching 15 wickets at an economy rate of 4.17.

Presently he is on a break and may also be rested for the two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh.