India’s leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been a match-winner for the Men in Blue on numerous occasions. In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Bumrah was at the peak of his powers, bailing his team out and winning games from nigh-impossible situations time after time.
The 30-year-old recently commented on captaincy, stating that boards should turn their attention towards the bowlers as captaincy options, even terming them as the ‘smart ones.’
BET NOW: Exclusive sign-up offers and bonuses when you bet on cricket action
The pacer even gave examples of legendary captains like Kapil Dev of India and Imran Khan of Pakistan who went on to lift the World Cup for their respective nations.
However, former Pakistani cricketer, Basit Ali hasn’t agreed with Bumrah’s statement about the two legendary skippers, stating that he should rather focus more on his bowling at the moment than chasing captaincy.
READ MORE: Wolverine is a Bazball fan! - Hollywood star Hugh Jackman appreciates England's Test approach
Basit Ali’s statements on Jasprit Bumrah
Talking on his YouTube channel, Basit stated that both Kapil Dev and Imran Khan had already established themselves as top-class all-rounders before making their mark as captains. The former batter stated that the two were never appointed captains when they were just bowlers.
About Jasprit Bumrah's statement, it's just like how Babar Azam likes captaincy. In my opinion, he should not chase captaincy. He is a top-class bowler and should be focussing just on that. 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.
Bumrah has already led the Indian team once in Tests. He was appointed captain for the remaining Test game against England from their five-match series in 2021. The final game was played a year later, with Bumrah captaining the side.
However, it didn’t really go as planned for the bowler as England defeated India in the game by seven wickets to level the series at 2-2.
Basit also said that Bumrah might have a chance to become the skipper of the white-ball side after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The tournament is set to be played in February 2025 with Pakistan appointed as the hosts.
One of the examples of a world-class captain as a bowler is Australia’s Pat Cummins who won both the World Championship and the ODI World Cup 2023 as the skipper of Australia. Coincidentally, Cummins and co. defeated India in both finals.
READ MORE: Sachin Tendulkar reveals unusual technique to master playing reverse swing