File photo of Shubman Gill© AFP
Former Indian cricket team batter Navjot Singh Sidhu believes that Jasprit Bumrah is the ideal candidate to become the next Test captain. Ahead of the squad announcement for the England series, Sidhu said that Bumrah will be the right choice as captain considering his brilliant performances overseas. Following Rohit Sharma‘s retirement, the selectors were faced with the challenge of picking the new captain. While Bumrah was the vice-captain in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and even led the side on some occasions, Shubman Gill has emerged as the top contender.
“Tough conditions, right? Without a captain, without a strong leader, those transitions are impossible. Who is that person who will say, I am standing in front of the line; I will lead by example? Who is that person who will instill faith in those who follow him? Who is that person who will have acceptance? Remember, Hardik Pandya came to Mumbai last time. The acceptance was not there. What happened to the team? This time, there is acceptance,” said Sidhu on his YouTube channel.
“See, how the team is playing together. So, who will they believe that, yes, this is the person who can lead us? I think it is Bumrah. And why do I talk about him? Because all the performances have come in foreign countries. Now I hear a lot of things that don’t get injured. The heaviest burden in life is the things that might happen but don’t,” he added.
However, Sidhu was all praise for Gill as a batter and said that he should either open the batting or play at No.3. He also said that KL Rahul should replace Virat Kohli at No. 4.
“I am all for Gill. But Gill the batsman. If you make him a captain in Test cricket, then make him open or play him at No.3. Then don’t put a protective shield on him. Then you will have to give the signal that he is our captain. We are investing in him for a year. And Gill opens. Then don’t say that we will make him play instead of Kohli. You can’t do that. Because that’s a wrong signal,” said Sidhu.
“Because a strong man doesn’t need a protective shield. Whether you play Sarfaraz there. Last time you took Sarfaraz on tour. I will play Shreyas Iyer. You don’t want to keep Shreyas Iyer in reckoning. Bring Karun Nair. My goal is to make KL Rahul play on no. 4,” he added.
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