(ESPNCRICINFO) – JASPRIT Bumrah has said that he didn’t want to become India’s Test captain because of workload management and that he had communicated the same to the BCCI, who were looking at him as a leadership candidate at the time.

After Rohit Sharma had announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, Shubman Gill was picked as India’s new Test captain for the upcoming five-match series against England.
“There’s no fancy stories to it [captaincy],” Bumrah told Sky Sports during an interview with Dinesh Karthik. “There is no controversy or there’s no headlining statements that I was sacked or I was not looked after. Before Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) retired during the IPL, I had spoken to BCCI that I have discussed about my workloads going forward in a five Test-match series. 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.

“I did speak to him and then we came to a conclusion that I have to be a little more smart. 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 [it my] all Test matches coming a five Test-match series. So then, yes, the BCCI was looking at me at leadership. But then I had to say no. It’s not fair for the team as well that in a five Test-match series, someone is leading in three matches and someone else in two matches. It’s not fair on the team and I always wanted to put the team first.”

During the final Border-Gavaskar Test in Sydney in January earlier this year, Bumrah had suffered a back injury. What was initially reported as back spasms then turned out to be a stress-related injury, which forced him to miss the Champions Trophy and the start of IPL 2025.

Bumrah has been cautious about his workload since and is likely to play suggested caution, saying another back injury for Bumrah in the same spot where he had surgery “could be a career-ender”.
“[We will] plan on the go,” Bumrah said when asked about whether he would play the first, third and the fifth matches. “Three Test matches is what I’m looking at. Obviously that number is not decided. First [Test] is definitely on, that is going to happen. The rest we’ll see how things are, what is the workload, what are the scenarios going on. Three Test matches is what I can manage at this moment. And I don’t want to be in a desperate scenario.

“I cannot be dictating if I’d have been the captain that, ‘okay, I’ll only play three Test matches’. That doesn’t send a good message in the team as well. All of these things in mind, trying to give my best as a player and trying to contribute to the best of my capacity. Hopefully in the games that I play, I’ll give it my absolute best.”