The peerless Jasprit Bumrah has revealed that he had ruled out Test captaincy during the IPL itself as part of his workload management, and had informed the BCCI of his desire to prioritise his bowling responsibilities over leadership duties. During an interaction with former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik on Sky Sports Cricket, Bumrah explained the thought process behind his decision to turn down the Indian Test captaincy.

“There’s no fancy stories to it. There is no controversy or a headlining statement that I was sacked. Before Rohit and Virat retired, I had spoken to the BCCI during the IPL about my workload going forward in a five-match series,” Bumrah said. “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.

“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 matches coming to a five-match Test series,” added Bumrah.