Matthew Hayden has revealed that legendary India skipper MS Dhoni had once touted pacer Jasprit Bumrah as a potential captain. This comes ahead of the first Test of the five-match BGT 2024 series that will be played in Perth and see Jasprit Bumrah captaining India in absence of Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma recently became a father for the second time and has decided to spend some extra time with his family and newborn son. This means that he will miss the Perth Test and Jasprit Bumrah being the vice-captain will captain India.
Bumrah has previously captained India in the Edgbaston Test against England in 2022, when Rohit was ruled out due to Covid. He has also captained India in two T20Is against Ireland.
Matthew Hayden lauded the speedster for having a matured head on his shoulders and backed him to perform well as a captain in Perth.
“From what I understand, not knowing Bumrah on the field as such, not even having played against him, but coming from a great friend and mentor of mine in MS Dhoni, he’s got leadership qualities as well. In fact, he was touted by MS many years ago as a potential captain,” Hayden told India Today.
“Off the field, I have spent a large amount of time with Jasprit, he’s intelligent, well-organised and constructive in his comments on the game, which for me reveals he’s got good leadership instincts, and they will come to the fore captaining a very excited and extremely optimistic team coming here, and I’m sure he will be up for it,” Hayden said.
Hayden stated that, despite not playing as often as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Bumrah has stepped up and performed like a "stalwart" of Indian cricket. He also mentioned how wonderfully Bumrah bowled in the Perth Test in 2018, which India lost by 146 runs.
“When you think about Jasprit Bumrah, you think he’s probably played 80 to 100 Tests. It just seems like he’s been a stalwart of Indian cricket across all three formats. The reality is he has played 40 Tests and that’s a lot of cricket, but it’s not Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and other names that have played a lot more amongst the stalwarts of Indian cricket,” Hayden said.
“Bumrah will lead with the ball just like Pat Cummins. He took five wickets in Perth in a losing cause. He is going to lead from the front, the better he bowls, the better his team gets into a position of dominance, and he can expose many players because of his immense talent,” Hayden added.
Bumrah has excelled in pace friendly conditions in Australia, taking 32 wickets in 7 Tests with a six-fer in MCG.
