Jasprit Bumrah is universally acknowledged as one of the smartest fast bowlers around, but if one asks the Indian pace spearhead, it’s not just with the ball that his mind is at its sharpest.
Bumrah believes that bowlers can make excellent captains, and it is unfair that so few of them get leadership assignments.
“I believe bowlers are the smart people, because they have to get the batsmen out. They are always fighting the odds, because the grounds are smaller, the bats are better,” Bumrah said at Express Adda held in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Fighting the odds makes you a lot braver
“It’s a hard job, and I take a lot of pride in doing that job. It takes a lot of guts, puts a lot of strain on your body. Bowlers find new ways of succeeding, fighting the odds makes you a lot braver. I think leadership requires you to be brave.”
He has led India in a solitary Test match, and two T20Is, but is not short of confidence about his capability in this regard. “My favourite captain is me. I’m the greatest captain,” the 30-year-old said.
Bumrah comes across as an admirer of Australia Test and one-day captain Pat Cummins, and puts his achievement forward as argument for pacers’ suitability for leadership.
“We have seen Pat Cummins doing really well. He is a big example… a fast bowler who takes a lot of responsibility, who takes a lot of pride, won the World Cup, won the WTC (World Test Championship),” he said.
“When I was a child, I had seen Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis captaining. Kapil Dev won us a World Cup, Imran Khan has won a World Cup for Pakistan. So, bowlers are the smart ones. It’s just that sometimes, physically it puts a strain on them,” he says. “Most important thing in cricket is captaincy, how you bowl and how you set fields. Bowlers make very good captains. They understand the sport and understand what they have to do.”
Captaincy is a post, but a team is run by 11 people
In a decade-long career in which he has emerged as arguably India’s greatest-ever pace bowler across formats, Bumrah has played under various captains with different leadership styles and has imbibed qualities from all of them.
“Rohit (Sharma) is one of the few captains who has empathy towards bowlers, despite being a batsman. He understands players’ emotions. He knows what a player is going through. Rohit is not rigid, he is open to feedback,” he said.
“MS (Dhoni) gave me a lot of security quickly. He has a lot of faith in his instinct, and doesn’t believe in a lot of planning.”
“Virat (Kohli) is energy-driven, passionate, wears his heart on his sleeve. He pushed us in terms of fitness, changed the narrative that way,” Bumrah elaborated.
But he feels leadership is too important to be left to one individual.
“Now Virat is not the captain, but he is still a leader. Captaincy is a post, but a team is run by 11 people.”
Bumrah was the Player of the Tournament as India ended its ICC trophy drought of more than a decade at the recent T20 World Cup in the Americas. He knows the fickle nature of fandom, having witnessed how Hardik Pandya was treated by Mumbai Indians fans during the IPL and then feted when he played a key role in India’s World Cup triumph. He understands the importance of staying level-headed regardless of what the world is saying.
Players have to find their own way
“People have to be thick-skinned. Players have to find their own way. What works for me is that I don’t take anything seriously. Fame comes with the sport, and you cannot take social media seriously,” he said.
“We live in an emotion-driven country. It’s (the crowd behaviour) the way it is. You have to take it on your chin. That’s where the inner circle comes in. We as a team don’t encourage that, we don’t promote that. We don’t think that’s warranted. We were with him (Hardik), talking to him, if he needed support. Certain things are beyond your control. If it happened, it happened. The narrative just changed, when we won the World Cup. This is part of the journey,” Bumrah said.
“It’s us against the world. We will try to give as much support as we can.”
You have to be at the right place at the right time
Fast bowlers are considered an aggressive lot, not short of a word or two in the middle, ready to get into altercations with batsmen. But Bumrah is often seen smiling, even when things are not going his way.
“Usually, people don’t fight a lot with me, because they know that if they try to needle that person, he will become even more motivated. I don’t need to intimidate. I don’t need to say a word. I know my ball can talk. I don’t need to do anything for the camera, or be a clown,” he said.
This immense confidence in his ability keeps Bumrah unfazed at the prospect of any talented youngster coming up, who may someday take his place in the Indian team.
“You have to be at the right place at the right time, but to stay there, you have to do even more hard work. Luck might get you there, but to stay there, you have to work hard,” he said.
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