Superstar pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who recently guided India to T20 World Cup triumph, ignored Men in Blue's legendary captains to declare his favourite skipper in the sport. Bumrah made his international debut in 2016 under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Over the subsequent eight years, he has played under the captaincy of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as well. All three skippers have achieved immense success in their roles. However, when recently asked to name the greatest Indian captain of all time, Bumrah surprised everyone by choosing himself. The 30-year-old, who has briefly captained India in a Test and two T20Is, declared himself his favorite captain. This unexpected response came despite having played under the tutelage of three legendary leaders.
I am my favourite captain: Jasprit Bumrah
“See, my favourite captain is me because I have captained a few games. Obviously, there are great captains, but I will take my name… I am my favourite captain,” he told Indian Express.
Jasprit Bumrah has had a taste of captaincy. He first led the Indian team in a Test match against England in July 2022, filling in for the absent Rohit Sharma. The following year, he was given the captaincy for two T20Is against Ireland. Currently, Bumrah holds the position of vice-captain for India's Test team.
The star pacer has expressed immense admiration for Rohit Sharma. Having played under Rohit's leadership in the IPL, where they won five titles together, as well as in the T20 World Cup, Bumrah believes he has much to learn from the experienced captain.
“There is so much to learn from Rohit Sharma and how he has evolved as a captain; he has learned from mistakes, opened to feedback, is not rigid, listens to everyone, then finally filters it out. I am grateful and privileged to have played under his captaincy for a long time,” Bumrah added.
Bumrah commended Rohit Sharma for creating an environment where young players feel valued and essential members of the team.
“In the recent England series, when the youngsters came, Rohit made the atmosphere very comfortable; he took extra effort; he will take them out; he will talk to them about the game; he will try and push them to take the responsibility, as the youngsters should think all are equally important; there is no senior or junior," Bumrah concluded.
Meanwhile, Bumrah has been fully rested for India's upcoming white-ball series against Sri Lanka which will feature three T20Is and as many ODIs.
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