India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah on Monday said he is not averse to leading the national team if an opportunity comes knocking at his door in the near future.
With Virat Kohli's captaincy tenure in all formats coming to an end following his resignation from Test leadership on Saturday, there are questions about who could be his long-term successor considering that Rohit Sharma will be 35 next year.
"If given an opportunity, it will be an honour, and I don't see any player would say no, and I am no different. Be it any leadership group, I always look to contribute however I can, to the best of my abilities," Bumrah replied to a query from PTI in a press conference ahead of the ODI series against South Africa starting Wednesday.
Bumrah will be the vice-captain during the series.
"I look at this situation in the same manner... taking responsibility and talking to players and helping them out has always been my approach and it will always be my approach going further keeping any situation in mind."
“I have to do my job and I will be helping KL Rahul as much as I can whenever he needs assistance. Even when I am not the vice-captain, I try to help the younger guys and I have a lot of discussions with them regarding having a particular field," added Bumrah who will be the vice-captain of India ODI team for the series against South Africa.
Further talking about his role as vice-captain, Bumrah said: "You always want the responsibility. If there is no responsibility or pressure, you would not enjoy the game. I try to manage the responsibility and contribute to the side's cause. I am a keen learner, when I came into the team, I always asked questions. I try to help out the youngsters and eradicate their doubts. Sometimes I also end up learning from them."
When asked about how he would approach the ODIs against South Africa, Bumrah said: "Obviously you have to move forward, it is a different format of the game. The pace of the game changes, the load on the body reduces as well. It is a shorter format, faster pace. As a bowler, you have to quickly assess and vary your pace accordingly."
Talking about pacer Mohammed Siraj's fitness, Bumrah said: "I think he is fine. He is practicing with us. I do not see any discomfort, hopefully that stays that way. Nothing I am aware of right now but everyone seems to be okay. Hopefully, that stays that way."
When asked about whether India would look at SA ODIs as preparation for the 2023 World Cup, the pacer said: "There has to be a vision on which direction we want to go in. We will try to give guys an equal opportunity. Every series needs to be given importance and we will keep a vision."
Bumrah also that the team respects Kohli's decision to give up Test captaincy and was duly informed by the star batter.
