According to Aakash Chopra, if in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah gets a chance to captain Team India in the fifth and final Test against England, then it will be a matter of great honor for this fast bowling. Along with this, the former Indian opener also explained why fast bowlers are avoided as captain.
Before the Edgbaston Test, Team India captain Rohit Sharma was found to be Corona positive during the practice match against Leicestershire. If the experienced opener batsman is not able to recover in time to play, then Bumrah will take over the command of Team India. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra gave his opinion on making Bumrah the captain.
Chopra said, “It will be a big deal for Jasprit Bumrah to captain in the Edgbaston Test. It’s a great honor. Many people ask why a bowler cannot be the captain? Do bowlers not have brains to strategize? Cricketer-turned-commentator Chopra rubbished the idea that bowlers cannot lead a team well.
Chopra said, “His mind works more than that of the batsmen. He has the ability to read different batsmen, workload management and thinking about which line to bowl is a very intelligent job. So it’s not that bowlers can’t be good captains.” Anil Kumble was the last bowler to captain Team India in a Test match. If Bumrah takes over the captaincy in the last Test against England, he will be the first fast bowler after Kapil Dev to lead the Indian team.
Aakash Chopra insisted that bowlers should take the difficult decision of controlling their overs. He said, “There are many reasons why bowlers are not able to become captain. One of the major reasons is that they are unable to manage their overs properly. This is a huge problem. When do you bring yourself to bowl? It’s one question and then another, how long do you want to bowl, which is very difficult to understand. You want to be fair, you want to be neutral. You think what is best for your team, but you also think that no one should think that you are abusing your authority.”