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"They Were Looking At Me": Bumrah Confirms Declining BCCI's Offer To Become Test Captain

Abhinav Tyagi

Jasprit Bumrah - (Source : @Johns/X.com)Jasprit Bumrah - (Source : @Johns/X.com)

In a significant development, India’s star seamer Jasprit Bumrah has confirmed that the BCCI considered him for the leadership role but that he declined the offer due to injury concerns.

Speaking with Dinesh Karthik for Sky Sports, Bumrah revealed that the apex cricket board of India viewed him as the first choice to replace Rohit Sharma as the next Test captain. The right-arm seamer explained that managing his back issues was the primary reason for turning down the opportunity.

“Before Rohit and Virat retired during the IPL, I had spoken to the BCCI about my workloads going forward in the five-Test match series. I’ve spoken to the people who have managed my back. I’ve spoken to the surgeon as well, who’s always spoken to me about how smart you have to be about the workloads. So I did speak to him, and then we concluded that I have to be a little smarter. So then I called the BCCI and said I don’t want to be looked at in a leadership role because I won’t be able to give all the Test matches in the five-Test match series,” Bumrah said speaking to SKY  Sports.

Bumrah Confirms Not Playing All Five-Test Matches

In the same conversation, Jasprit Bumrah confirmed that he will not be available for all five Test matches. The 31-year-old stated that it would not have been ideal for the team if he had accepted the captaincy and then missed matches, resulting in different captains within the same series.

“Yes, the BCCI was looking at me for leadership. But then I had to say no, that it’s not fair for the team as well, that, you know, in a five-Test match series, three matches are led by somebody and two matches by somebody else. It’s not fair to the team. And I always wanted to put the team first,” he added.

Bumrah did not specify which Tests he will miss, but reports suggest that he is likely to participate in a maximum of three matches against England. He emphasized the importance of managing his workload to avoid premature departure from red-ball cricket.