Previously, the pacer led India in three Tests and two T20Is.
The veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has recently opened up about the personality and great cricketing mindset of India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah that makes him an ideal choice for India’s leadership. Previously, there was a strong debate regarding the captaincy candidate for the longest format of the game, after skipper Rohit Sharma’s sudden retirement from the Tests, ahead of the five-match tour of England.
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The batter revealed how his words reflected the insight of a great team leader. Earlier, several former players and experts also suggested that Bumrah should take up the responsibility of captaining the side while emphasising his experience and composure.
“When I used to sit next to him, he would always be giving an input on what our batters or the opposition could be doing differently, which is why he was viewed as a candidate to be captain before India appointed Shubman Gill,” wrote the batter in his column in BBC Sport.
Notably, the pacer also revealed that the management had approached him for the role earlier, but unfortunately, the 31-year-old could not agree to take up the responsibility.
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Previously, he sustained a back injury during the fifth and final match of the latest Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series, which was followed by a surgery that ruled him out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and some initial matches for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. This made sure that he would not be able to feature in all the upcoming red-ball fixtures of Team India due to managing his workload.
“Most people talk about Bumrah’s skills with the ball, his angle or his action but his biggest strength is often overlooked. He has a brilliant cricket brain which comes from his time in the IPL,” added Pujara.
The prime pacer has captained the side in three Test matches against England and Australia. During India’s last red-ball tour of England in 2022, Bumrah led the team in the fifth match of the series and scalped five wickets in the fixture. He also captained India in the first and final matches of the BGT 2024-25 series. Notably, he was adjudged the Player of the Series award for bagging a total of 32 wickets in five Test matches.
However, the new and young unit of players have showcased a brilliant fight so far, under the newly appointed skipper Shubman Gill, in the ongoing red-ball series against England. They came so close to victory in all three matches so far but missed out on claiming the crucial, match-defining moments, which is reflected in the current score line of the series. Though the team is currently trailing 2-1 before heading into the fourth Test, Gill and Co. would look to rectify the needed areas to level the series ahead of the final fixture at The Oval. The penultimate fixture of the series will commence on July 23.
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