Shubman Gill was handed India's Test captaincy following Rohit Sharma's retirement last month.
Despite leading India in a couple of Test matches during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, Jasprit Bumrah was not named the full-time skipper after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the longest format last month.
Instead, Shubman Gill was handed the Test captaincy, with Rishabh Pant being named his deputy. Gill will begin his leadership tenure with the tour of England, starting June 20 in Leeds.
With three days remaining for the England series, Bumrah finally broke his silence on not getting India's Test captaincy. The ace pacer revealed that he was the first-choice of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, but he had turned down the offer because of workload.
In an interview with former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik for SKY Sports, Bumrah shared that he had spoken to BCCI officials and the selectors regarding his workload even before Rohit and Virat Kohli’s Test retirements.
Bumrah had to take the tough call of letting the captaincy go, as the doctors and physios suggested him to be smart with his body to extend his career.
"Before Rohit and Virat retired during the IPL, I had spoken to the BCCI about my workloads going forward in a five-test match series. I've 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 you have to be about the workloads. So I did speak to him, and then we came to the conclusion that I have to be a little smarter. So then 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 give all the Test matches in a five-test match series," Bumrah said.
"Yes, the BCCI was looking at me for leadership. But then I had to say, no, that it's not fair for the team as well, that, you know, a five-Test match series, three matches, somebody else is leading, two matches, somebody else is leading. It's not fair to the team. And I always wanted to put the team first," he added.
Bumrah missed the Champions Trophy 2025 and the first couple of weeks of recently-concluded IPL season due to the back injury that he sustained in the fifth and final BGT Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
This was the second instance of him suffering a stress injury on his back. The first time it happened, he was ruled out of action for more than a year.
Bumrah reckons he can offer more to the team's success as a player than just being the captain. "Even if me being there as a player offers a lot more, just not as a captain. The captaincy is a post, but you always have leaders in the team. And I wanted to do that," he remarked.
Widely deemed as the fast bowler across formats, Bumrah said he does not want to push his body to a stage where he can't play three formats regularly.
"If I'm not careful, I don't know about the future and I don't want to be in a situation where, you know, abruptly I have to go away from this format. So I thought that for continuity, and it is only fair to the team, that you know, the team goes in that direction where they look at long term, and I could help in whatever way I can. But yeah, 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 to the Indian team as a player. Then, you know, ambitions are there, but that's how it is. And I called the BCCI and I said that I don't want to be looked at in a leadership role."