I Am Not Too Sure If Jasprit Bumrah Can Be India's Captain: Bharat Arun

Former Indian player Bharat Arun is not convinced with ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah being looked as a prospect of leading the Indian team in future.

Bumrah, who has 292 international wickets to his name, has set himself as one of the fiery bowlers in the current times. With his searing yorkers and nasty bouncers, the Ahmedabad-born speedster is capable of controlling runs in the slog overs.

Would Jasprit Bumrah be able to sustain all three formats all the time?: Bharat Arun

Bumrah was named as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the three-match ODI series against South Africa, which India lost 0-3. The Indian pacer has been rested for the upcoming limited-overs series against West Indies.

Arun, who was India’s bowling coach until November, 2021, feels that Bumrah should not be pressurised with the captaincy duties as he needs sufficient rest after playing all three formats for India.

“Bumrah is somebody who has got a mind to do it (captaincy). But giving a captaincy to Bumrah.. would he be able to sustain all three formats all the time? That’s the question you would have because Bumrah is a bowler who we need to take care of,” Arun told News9.

“He needs to be given sufficient breaks between matches and between series to stay fresh. Taking that into account, I’m not too sure if he can be the captain,” he added.

I would rather prefer a batsman for the captaincy role: Bharat Arun

KL Rahul was the captain of the ODI team as newly appointed skipper Rohit Sharma had suffered a hamstring injury at that point. Rahul lost all four matches as India’s captain including the second Test in Johannesburg.

Arun believes that a batter should lead the team instead of a bowler being given that job and suggested the likes of Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer could be looked as the potential candidate to lead India in future.

“If you look at KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer.. between three of them, any one of them has got the quality to lead the side. It depends on how they are faring at a particular point of time. I would rather prefer a batsman because he can play in all three formats without being rested for any series to take the mantle of captaincy,” Arun commented.

India will play against West Indies in three ODI matches and as many T20I series, the bilateral series begins with the first ODI on February 6 in Ahmedabad. Rohit Sharma will return to the team and lead them after recovering from his injury.

Also Read: Personally Feel Virat Kohli Could Have Had Couple Years More As Captain – Bharat Arun