MI Captain Jasprit Bumrah Takes Dig At Hardik Pandya & Suryakumar Yadav With His 'Test Captain' Remark

Jasprit Bumrah is making his IPL captaincy debut as he leads Mumbai Indians against the Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. Bumrah takes the armband with captain Hardik Pandya and vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav both unavailable for the game. Bumrah at the toss took a dig at the two captains, pointing out him being a Test captain before leading Mumbai Indians.

"I came here as a 19-year-old. I didn't think that I will be a Test captain before becoming MI captain," Jasprit Bumrah said at the toss.

Bumrah's dig at Hardik & Surya

Bumrah's comments come after his long wait for MI captaincy. The fast bowler has been with the franchise since 2013, well ahead of both Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. However, he was ignored when the franchise opted to replace Rohit Sharma, with Hardik traded in from Gujarat Titans. Bumrah then lost out to Suryakumar Yadav in the games Hardik missed. With both unavailable, the fast bowler has finally had his chance, long after his leadership qualities were recognised by the Indian cricket team.

Jasprit Bumrah's captaincy record

Jasprit Bumrah famously captained India to a historic Test win over England at Edgbaston in 2022, becoming the first fast bowler in decades to lead the national side in a Test match. Bumrah also led India in the rescheduled fifth Test against England and later captained the side during the Ireland T20I series in 2023, where India secured a comfortable 2-0 victory. Known for his calm temperament and tactical clarity, Bumrah has earned praise for handling pressure situations smartly despite having limited captaincy opportunities in his career so far.