Former Pakistani star's blunt opinion on Jasprit Bumrah's captaincy aspirations: 'Revealing parallels with Babar Azam's preferences'

Jasprit Bumrah, who has frequently voiced his ambition to lead the Indian cricket team, had the opportunity to captain the Asian Giants in the postponed Test against England in 2022. Recently, Bumrah emphasized the importance of considering bowlers as captaincy options, dubbing them the 'smart ones'. Drawing inspiration from iconic figures like Kapil Dev and Imran Khan, who led India and Pakistan to World Cup victories, Bumrah highlighted the potential for bowlers to excel in leadership roles within the team. In an interview with Indian Express, the premier India pacer advocated for a shift in perspective towards bowlers as potential captains in the future.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has advised Bumrah not to chase captaincy. He also took a dig at Bumrah's statement on the captaincy and stated it's just like how Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam likes his captaincy despite having an underwhelming record.

"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. This is the difference between a bowler and an all-rounder," Basit said on his YouTube Channel.

In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Bumrah led the Indian team in the postponed Edgbaston Test against England in 2022, but it didn't go as planned as the visitors suffered a defeat.

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Despite his criticism of Bumrah's statement, Ali feels that there is a chance he might become India's captain after the Champions Trophy. But he asserted that only a few fast bowlers have become good coaches or captains in cricket.

"He also spoke about Pat Cummins. Yes, Cummins is a good captain, but there are very few fast bowlers who can become a good coach or captain. My best wishes to Jasprit Bumrah. There is a chance that he could be made the captain after the Champions Trophy."

Meanwhile, the BCCI's primary focus is to manage Bumrah's workload as he has been kept out of the leadership group in recent times as young Shubman Gill is elevated to vice-captaincy's role across formats.

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