'It Would Be Difficult'-Ravi Shastri On A Fast Bowler Becoming India Captain

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has spoken about the possibility of fast bowlers becoming captain of the Indian cricket team in the future. Jasprit Bumrah is being seen as a potential candidate to led the team in the future across formats. Meanwhile, Shastri has given his take on the matter.

Talking to Shoaib Akhtar for the latter’s Youtube channel, Ravi Shastri said that it would be difficult in Indian cricket for a longer period of time. He further said that he did not think about it during his tenure as the coach of the side.

I Never Thought Of It: Ravi Shastri On Fast Bowlers Becoming Captains

“No, I never thought of it. In India we’ve had enough. And I never thought in that fashion at that time. In India it’s going to be difficult for a fast bowler to captain. A fast bowler captain has to be an all-rounder basically or he has to be a Bob Willis kind of captain who in conditions where they play, a fast bowler will always be in the game, he will be aggressive.

“He’ll be looking to win games and take wickets. Very rarely has a fast bowler been there for too long. Unless he is a genuine all-rounder like Kapil, Imran or Sir Garfield,” Shastri said on Shoaib Akhtar’s YouTube channel.

Jasprit Bumrah was recently asked about whether he is interested in leading India in the future to which he responded by saying that if given an opportunity he would surely love to.

“If given an opportunity, it will be an honour and I don’t see any player would say no and I am no different. Be it any leadership group, I always look to contribute however I can, to the best of my abilities,” Bumrah had said.

Shastri ended his conversation with Shoaib Akhtar speaking about the future of Indian cricket after they lost the South Africa series. They lost the Test series 2-1 after winning the first Test and were whitewashed in the ODIs series.

“It’s a very important period for Indian cricket, there will be a period of transition in the next 8-10 months. It’s important to identify the right kind of players who will take you forward in 4-5 years. I always believe that there should be a mix between youth and experience” stressed Shastri.

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