Mohammed Kaif believes that Jasprit Bumrah should not become the next Indian cricket team captain after Rohit Sharma and added that a batter would be better suited for the role. The former India star suggested the names of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the ideal candidates who can “maintain the balance with the team” once Rohit steps down. There has been a lot of speculation after the captaincy situation with Bumrah emerging as one of the top contenders for the Test captaincy. However, Kaif said that it can result in more pressure on Bumrah and can end up impacting his performance.
“Jasprit Bumrah will not take over captaincy in the future…Bumrah becoming Rohit Sharma’s successor is not the right idea, because he is the only bowler who puts his life out for the team and takes huge load of pressure and with very less to no support. Which is the reason he is getting injured, it was not the first time (Sydney Test) he got injured,” Kaif said on YouTube.
“I don’t believe he should be the captain…I want a batter to become a captain be it Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul. Rishabh and KL have done captaincy in the IPL, so one of them can be a good choice.”
Meanwhile, Bumrah continued to reign supreme at the top of the bowlers’ chart with a career-best rating of 908 in the latest ICC Test Rankings, released on Wednesday.
Bumrah, who made history ahead of the fifth and final Test against Australia by recording the highest-ever ICC Rankings rating for an Indian bowler at 907 points, improved that tally by one point after taking two wickets in the first innings at the SCG.
BCCI shd think twice before appointing Bumrah as full time captain.He needs to solely focus on taking wkts and staying fit.Added leadership responsibility, getting carried away in heat of moment can result in injuries and shorten an outstanding career.Don’t kill the golden goose.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 8, 2025
However, a back spasm ruled him out of bowling in the second innings, restricting his role to just batting. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who climbed a spot to be joint-ninth, is the other Indian giving Bumrah company in the top-10.
He shares the ninth spot with Australian pacer Scott Boland, who has made a remarkable leap of 29 places to break into the top 10.
Boland’s stellar performance in the Sydney Test, where he claimed a 10-wicket haul (4/31 and 6/45), proved too much for the Indian batters on a lively pitch. His efforts were instrumental in Australia’s triumph, ending a decade-long wait to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
(With PTI inputs)
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