For the first time in BGT history, two pacers will captain their respective sides in a Test.
India captain Jasprit Bumrah, who will lead the side in the first Test of the BGT 2024 in Perth, and his Australian counterpart Pat Cummins, have pushed for more fast bowlers to be given captaincy opportunities. They also said that pacers are tactically better.
For the first time in the history of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, two fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins are set to captain the sides. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, both welcomed the decision to hand the captaincy to the pacers and hoped that the tradition would carry on.
“I have always advocated for pacers being captains. They are tactically better. Pat (Cummins) has done a phenomenal job. There are a lot of models in the past as well. Kapil Dev and a lot of other captains in the past. Hopefully, a start of a new tradition,” Bumrah said.
Cummins believes that having a pacer as a skipper is usually beneficial. Cummins who became Australia's first fast bowling captain, has experienced remarkable success, with the side winning both the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship in 2023.
“Yeah, great to see. Should happen more. The New Zealand series last year was good with Tim Southee as captain as well. Yeah, I don’t think it really changes too much. It’s one of those rare things. Looking forward to seeing how he goes about his work out there, but as a fan of fast bowling, it’s always good to see,” Cummins said.
India arrived in Australia after a shocking 3-0 series whitewash against New Zealand, but Bumrah believes that series loss will matter little when the action begins Down Under.
“When you win you start from zero but when you lose, then also you also start from zero. We are not carrying any baggage from India. Yes, we have our learnings from the New Zealand series but those were different conditions and our results here have been different,” Bumrah said.
India will need to win four Tests out of five to ensure they qualify for the WTC 2025 final without worrying about other teams.
(ANI inputs)