Former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu reckons Jasprit Bumrah is the ideal candidate to lead the side on the upcoming tour of England. The ace speedster led India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Rohit Sharma's absence, but the selectors and management are wary of making him the full-time captain because of his workload. There are concerns regarding whether the pacer can last the entire five-match series.
After Rohit Sharma's retirement, Shubman Gill has emerged as the front-runner to lead India in the longest format of the game. The chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, is all set to convene the selection meeting on Saturday afternoon to announce the squad for the crucial series against England.
According to reports, Jasprit Bumrah has told the BCCI that his body cannot play more than three Tests on a tour. It remains to be seen how many pacers Agarkar chooses to field for the upcoming series.
However, Sidhu believes Bumrah is the right choice for the captaincy as he can lead the team with full passion and vigour and his teammates will be ready to do anything for him.
"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 instil 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.
{{/usCountry}}"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 instil 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.
{{/usCountry}}"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.
‘Don’t put the protective shield on Gill'
Sidhu also believes that Shubman Gill should open the batting in Tests if he is made the captain in the longest format of the game. He also advised head coach Gautam Gambhir to utilise Gill up top and not use him at Virat Kohli's place at No.4.
Kohli announced his Test retirement earlier this month, and it remains to be seen who will take his No.4 position in Tests.
Sidhu also said that he ideally wants KL Rahul to play at the No.4 slot and he also made a case for Shreyas Iyer's inclusion in the Test lineup.
"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.