Jasprit Bumrah reveals why he’s not captaining Indian team in England: ‘Love cricket more than captaincy… No fancy stories, no controversy here’

Now, Bumrah himself has offered an explanation as to why he will not be leading the team for the tricky tour of England.

Bumrah revealed that he had refused the chance to captain India.

“The BCCI was looking at me for the leadership role, but then I had to say no because it’s not fair for the team as well that, you know, in a five-Test series, for three matches somebody else is leading and for two matches somebody else is leading. It’s not fair on the team and I always wanted to put the team first… I called the BCCI and said I don’t want to be looked at in a leadership role because I won’t be able to play in all Test matches coming into a five-Test match series,” Bumrah told former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik in an interview for Sky Sports Cricket.

The pace spearhead added: “There’s no fancy stories to it (him not being named India Test captain). There is no controversy. No headline statements that I was sacked or I was not looked after. Before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired, during the IPL, I had spoken to BCCI that I have discussed about my workloads going forward in a five-Test series. I had spoken to the people who have managed my back. I’ve spoken to the surgeon as well who’s always spoken to me about how smart I have to be about the workloads. So I did speak to him and then we came to a conclusion that I have to be a little more smart.”

Bumrah said that looking at continuity, it was only right for the team to think long-term when naming a captain.

But Bumrah did end up adding: “Captaincy meant a lot. I had worked very hard for it but unfortunately sometimes you have to look after the bigger picture. I love cricket more than captaincy. So I want to contribute more as a cricketer and player to the Indian team.”