In Virat Kohli’s long and successful tenure as the skipper of the Indian team, one of the biggest success stories was the rise of Jasprit Bumrah to one of the best bowlers in the world.
Now as Kohli leaves the captaincy role in all three formats, Bumrah is one of the most established members of the team and a key part of the leadership group going forward.
In fact, he is the vice-captain of the Indian team in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa where KL Rahul will lead the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence.
Bumrah addressed the media ahead of the 50-over series against Proteas and opened up on Virat Kohli’s shock decision to leave Test captaincy. The pacer recalled making his debut under Kohli and lavished praise on what he achived as captain over the years.
In the press conference, Bumrah said, “See, I am not here to give a judgment on Virat’s decision to leave Test captaincy. It is a personal decision, we respect his decision. He knows how his body is reacting and what frame of mind he is in. I respect that, it has been an immense pleasure to play under Virat Kohli, I made my Test debut under him. He brings a lot of energy to the side. He will always be a leader in the group and his contribution has always been immense.”
Bumrah also clarified that the players were told about the decision by Kohli himself in a team meeting. “We are close as a team unit, we got to know about his decision in a team meeting that he will stand down as the Test captain. We respect his decision, we value his leadership. We congratulated him for what he achieved as a leader of this side,” said the 28-year-old.
Bumrah hailed Kohli for the changes he bought into Indian cricket and claimed he will continue to be an important part of the leadership group despite not being the captain.
“Virat has been the leader of our team, he is energy-driven and he has brought a lot of change to Indian cricket. Everybody got fitter in the team, his contribution has been immense. He is a very important player in the group, his assistance, and knowledge of the game would always be used by the team. He will add inputs and suggestions, we all look up to him,” said Bumrah who will be the vice-captain of the India ODI team for the series against South Africa,” said Bumrah.
While India look for a new Test captain, they will play South Africa in the first ODI on January 19 in Paarl with the next two games scheduled for January 21 and 23 respectively.
