Jasprit Bumrah becoming Rohit Sharma’s successor is not the right idea: Mohammad Kaif. (Source : Twitter )
Jasprit Bumrah is one of the frontrunners to take up the role of India’s captaincy when Rohit Sharma steps down from the position. The star pacer led India to a famous victory in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Perth, a match which Rohit skipped as he was on paternity leave. The latter returned to the side for the next three games but India suffered defeats in two of them. Bumrah, once again, took charge in the fifth and final Test but was unable to play a major role after suffering an injury midway through the match.
However, Bumrah was named Player of the Series for his stunning performance as he finished as the leading wicket-taker, with 32 scalps at an average of 13.06. India lost the series 1-3 but Bumrah garnered massive praise from cricket enthusiasts for his contributions.
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There have been speculations of Bumrah taking over captaincy on a full-time basis, especially after Rohit decided to drop himself from the playing XI for the fifth Test. However, Mohammad Kaif feels that giving captaincy to the 31-year-old would put him under undue pressure. The former India cricketer suggested that a batter would be a better suited for the role. He proposed KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as ideal candidates to maintain balance within the team if Rohit relinquishes leadership.
“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 in a YouTube video.
“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,” he added.