"He is like a Kohinoor diamond, we got to protect him" - Dinesh Karthik rejects idea of Jasprit Bumrah as India's future captain
Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik rejected the idea of Jasprit Bumrah becoming India's future captain due to concerns about managing his workload. In a recent interview with the Indian Express, Bumrah referred to himself as his favorite captain, raising speculations about the pacer possibly leading India in the future.
The 30-year-old is arguably the best bowler in world cricket across formats and proved his worth in India's recent triumph at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. Bumrah was the Player of the Tournament for his incredible performance of 15 wickets at an average of 8.26 and an economy of 4.17 in eight outings.
In the latest episode of HeyCB with DK on Cricbuzz, Karthik said:
"For a fast bowler like Bumrah, his fitness needs to be monitored and he needs to be protected as a player and only made to play in important matches, I keep saying this about Bumrah, he is like a Kohinoor diamond, we got to protect him, take care of him, make sure that he lasts as long as possible because whenever Bumrah plays in any format he makes an impact and that's what we want."
"Everything right ... He is calm cool, good maturity but he is a fast bowler so how can we play him for all three formats that is the biggest question the selectors would have had," he added.
Bumrah has struggled with fitness issues, including a back injury that kept him out of action for almost 12 months in 2022 and 2023.
He was rested for India's T20I series in Zimbabwe and the following white-ball tour to Sri Lanka after the T20 World Cup.
Jasprit Bumrah has captained India in the Test and T20I formats
Jasprit Bumrah has captained India in the past in a Test and two T20Is in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma.
His first captaincy stint came in the rescheduled final Test of the five-match series in England in 2022. While Bumrah impressed with the ball, picking up match figures of 5/142, India suffered a seven-wicket defeat.
His next opportunity to lead the side came last year in the T20I series against Ireland. Bumrah ensured to emerge victorious as he led India to a 2-0 series win.
The ace pacer also picked up two wickets in both games at a miserly economy to bag the Man of the Series award.
Bumrah was speculated among the front runners to become Mumbai Indians' next captain after Rohit Sharma. However, those were put to bed when all-rounder Hardik Pandya was made skipper before the 2024 IPL season.