Too early to judge Jasprit Bumrah as next India Test skipper: Kapil Dev

Former India captain Kapil Dev has backed beleaguered India skipper Rohit Sharma, who is out of form and has suffered four consecutive losses as Test skipper, and said that it is too early to judge Jasprit Bumrah as captain after the pace bowler had led India to victory in the first Test in Australia.

While Bumrah led India to a big 295-run win at Perth, Sharma returned as captain for the second Test at Adelaide but faced a 10-wicket loss.

Kapil, who is the current President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), spoke to media on the eve of the Vishwa Samudra Open 2024, a Rs 2 crore tournament at the Delhi Golf Club on Monday.

Excerpts from his interaction with the media.

Q. With series one-all going into Brisbane Test, what do you think of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy?

A. Rohit Sharma doesn’t have to prove himself. He has done [well] for many, many years. So let us not doubt him. I won’t doubt. I hope his form will come back. That is more important. With one performance or two performances you start doubting someone’s captaincy who has done so well? I think six months ago, when he won the World Cup you wouldn’t have asked this question. That is what we want to say. Let him be. If he keeps on not performing he won’t be there in the team. But knowing his ability, he will bounce back.

Q. Was there a mistake in playing Harshit Rana ahead of Akash Deep?

A. I am nobody. How can I tell? The people who are sitting there, who have the responsibility, they should decide. You are asking me, you are trying to spoil the system. We should not talk [about Harshit vs Akash Deep]. We should ask, is he playing well or not? Is he playing well, that is what we can see. How can I judge why they picked him? I am not sitting in this position [to judge]. My former colleagues are sitting there in the position, I hope they will do a good job.

Q. Can we hope for a comeback in the series?

A. Yes, they will come back in golf very, very strongly (says jokingly). Together [in cricket and golf]. One day I will talk [about cricket]. When I am not here for this golf but for cricket, you can ask me thousands of questions. Today, my responsibility is towards golf. I appreciate your involvement in thought process on cricket but today I like to give my life to golf.

Q. Do you believe Jasprit Bumrah is shaping well to take over Test captaincy?

A. I think it is too early to talk about that. With one performance you can’t say he is one of the best [options for captaincy]. And with one bad performance you can’t say he doesn’t deserve [to be] there. Let a player play lot of cricket, do lots of captaincy, face ups and downs. Then you judge a person how he reacted in difficult times. Not at good time. In good times, we talk about a person. Like Virat Kohli, [he is] one of the best cricketers we have seen in our country. If you put top four batsmen, he will be there. So if he is going through a rough time, it is only up to him how fast he bounces back.

Q. What do you have to say about Vinod Kambli’s condition?

A. We should all try to support Vinod Kambli. More than I supporting him, he should support himself. We can’t look after someone, if he can’t look after himself. All the cricketers are very sad over what we have seen. I wish his closest friends who are with him all the time, try to give (drill in) him some sense that you look after yourself. People do get this illness. But [he should] go back to rehab and we will all support him. But he has to go back and support himself. Thank you for asking this question, because as a sportsperson I am concerned about a kid going through this phase.

Q. How do you think golf is progressing?

A. The way we used to think 30 years ago that we should earn what English and Australian cricketers are earning, the same thing is happening with golf. They are thinking, can we earn like Americans and Europeans. If sponsors come, with time this game will grow very, very big. This a game that you can play till you die. As long as you can walk, you can play this game. [Now at this age] I can’t play cricket, can’t play football, which I love because that demands athleticism. This game is athletic, but you can also walk and play. I can still play against the top players of the world, that is the beauty of this game.

Tags : Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Kapil Dev, Vinod Kambli, Brisbane Test, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana