Former Sri Lanka cricketer Mahela Jayawardena on Thursday (30th June) praised Jasprit Bumrah’s passion for Test cricket. He said that the pacer leading the team in the longest format of the game will be incredible.
On the eve of the game, the visitors suffered a major blow as skipper Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the match due to Covid-19, which he contracted during the warm-up game. His unavailability made BCCI name Bumrah as the 36th Test captain of India.
Bumrah will become the first fast bowler in 35 years to lead Team India in the longest format. Although he hasn’t led any team in the past but him being the leader of the Indian bowling attack, one cannot doubt his ability.
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Speaking in a video posted by ICC, Mahela Jayawardena said that Bumrah leading the Indian team will be incredible as rarely do fast bowlers get that opportunity.
“I think it’s incredible if he (Bumrah) gets that opportunity. You rarely see fast bowlers being given that opportunity to captain because it’s a lot of hard work, especially whenever you are playing Test cricket," Jayawardena said.
Jayawardena said that it’s great to see trend changing and fast bowlers leading their sides. He cited the example of Pat Cummins, highlighting that pacers understand how games flow. He added that it would be brilliant for Bumrah to lead the Test side.
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“But we’ve seen the trend changing, with Pat Cummins taking over the Australian (Test) captaincy and it’s great to see a bowler doing the job. They (bowlers) understand how the game flows, what needs to be done, and obviously your mind-set is to pick wickets… to be in a very positive mind frame. So, I think it will be brilliant (for Bumrah to be leading the Test side),"
Jayawardena talked about Bumrah’s passion for Test cricket and revealed that during their interaction in Mumbai Indians’ camp, the pacer always talks about red-ball cricket and is obsessed with it.
“It’s just the passion that he has to wear whites. We’ve had this conversation many years ago when he started playing Test cricket for India, and the more time we spent in the Mumbai (Indians) camp, it seems that Bumrah always wants to talk about red-ball cricket, he just loves it.
“It’s especially amazing that you come across fast bowlers who enjoy being out there playing Test cricket. It’s quite refreshing. He looks forward to each and every Test series. He doesn’t want to miss a single Test match for India, which is an asset to the country as he priorities his Test cricket very much," he said.
(ICC inputs)
