'Very rarely has a fast bowler been captain for too long' - Ravi Shastri on prospect of Jasprit Bumrah taking India's captaincy

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed his opinion on a fast bowler taking up the captaincy for India after Virat Kohli recently stepped down from the Test captaincy following a 1-2 series loss in the hands of South Africa. While Rohit looks to be at the top of the list of contenders at the moment to take the job, there is an outside chance for three other players on the side to be handed the responsibility.

India has opted for Rohit in the limited-overs setup as captain and KL Rahul has been picked as his deputy. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah had recently admitted that he is willing to take up the captaincy role if he is handed the responsibility, however, Shastri wasn’t much convinced about fast bowlers becoming the captain of the side on a longer run.

I never fancied fast bowlers for captaincy: Ravi Shastri

Shastri noted that appointment of all-rounders as captain is more common and explained the difficulties behind the idea of bowlers taking up a leadership role. He added that aggressiveness is a key factor while selecting a captain and revealed the examples of Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Sir Garfield Sobers who have been remarkable captains in the past despite being seam bowling all-rounders.

“No, I never thought of it. In India we’ve had enough. And I never thought in that fashion at that time. In India, it’s going to be difficult for a fast bowler to captain. A fast bowler captain has to be an all-rounder basically or he has to be a Bob Willis kind of captain who in conditions where they play, a fast bowler will always be in the game, he will be aggressive. He’ll be looking to win games and take wickets. Very rarely has a fast bowler been there for too long. Unless he is a genuine all-rounder like Kapil, Imran or Sir Garfield,” Shastri said on Akhtar’s YouTube channel.

India has named an 18-member squad for the upcoming limited series against West Indies at home and a couple of players earned their maiden call ups, while Bumrah has been rested for the home series and is likely to return later for Sri Lanka series.