As Team India gears up for a crucial Test series against Australia, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has expressed confidence in Jasprit Bumrah's ability to lead the team, even while shouldering the responsibility of spearheading the bowling attack.
Ricky Ponting backs Jasprit Bumrah to take up captaincy role in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
With high chances of Rohit Sharma missing the first Test in Perth, Bumrah is being considered as a potential captain for the Indian team. India's premier fast bowler and former Test vice-captain, Jasprit Bumrah, has previously led the Indian team in a Test match during the 2022 tour of England in Birmingham. Now, cricket legend Ricky Ponting has expressed his full backing for Bumrah to take on the captaincy role once again, this time for the upcoming tour of Australia.
Ponting believes that Bumrah possesses the necessary skillset and experience to effectively balance the demands of both bowling and captaincy. While concerns about the physical and mental toll of such a dual role have been raised, particularly in light of Pat Cummins' captaincy of Australia, Ponting remains confident that Bumrah can excel in both areas. He draws a parallel between the two, suggesting that Bumrah can manage the workload as successfully as Cummins has.
ALSO READ: Mohammad Rizwan makes perfect debut as captain, leads Pakistan to series win on Australian soil after 22 years as pacers reign supreme in Perth
Ponting acknowledged the challenge of simultaneously captaining a team and bowling. However, he expressed confidence in Bumrah's ability to handle both responsibilities effectively. Ponting highlighted Bumrah's experience and maturity, believing that these qualities would enable him to make sound decisions regarding his bowling workload and captaincy duties.
“Yeah, that (captaincy) is probably the hardest thing for him. I think that was always the question on Pat Cummins when he became the Australian Test captain as well. How much is he going to bowl himself? Is he going to bowl himself too much? Is he not going to bowl himself enough? But someone as experienced as Jasprit will understand the times when he needs to be bowling, when he needs to have a spell,” Ponting said on ICC Review.
Ponting highlighted the wealth of experience within the Indian squad, including Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant. He emphasized the importance of this experienced core, suggesting that Bumrah could lean on these seasoned players for guidance and tactical advice. This depth of experience, Ponting believes, will provide Bumrah with a strong support system as he navigates the challenges of captaincy and bowling during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Ponting emphasised that effective leadership isn't solely about making decisions independently. It also involves harnessing the expertise of those around you. He believes that Bumrah possesses this ability to draw on the knowledge of his experienced teammates, which will be crucial when facing a strong Australian side.
“In that Indian team, there's a lot of experience around him. And it's really important, I think, that you use the experience around you even when you are the captain, and just ask the appropriate questions at the right time because no matter how much cricket we've played, we're not always going to be right,” he further added.
“At the end of the day, as a captain, you're the one that's making that final decision, but whatever advice you can get along the way can only be good. Guys like that tend to thrive on the extra pressure and the responsibility. He's always been the leader of the attack for a long time anyway. Whether that's red ball, T20 or ODIs, he's the main man” Ponting concluded.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
Australia's squad for BGT 2024:
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
