Team India head coach Rahul Dravid opened up about his conversations with premier fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah after he was named India captain for the rescheduled fifth and final Test against England, which gets underway at Edgbaston on Friday (July 1).
Bumrah became the 36th player and only the second pacer-captain after the legendary Kapil Dev to lead India in Test cricket when he took the field for the toss alongside Ben Stokes at Edgbaston.
Dravid revealed that in his conversations with Bumrah before the match, he made it clear to the stand-in captain that India needed their match-winning pace bowler more than a captain in this crunch match against England.
Dravid told the official broadcasters Sony: “Just relax, we need you more as a bowler than as captain. I've had a couple of conversations with him in the last few days to tell him just to relax. We need you more as a bowler rather than as a captain.”
The coach added, “I think he is a very thoughtful individual, understands the game very well. Also, he commands the respect of the team, which is very important as a leader. Bowling changes and field changes obviously will only get better with time. It's a new challenge.
It's not easy for a fast bowler to captain, he's got to think about his own bowling too. Captaincy is something that you'll get better at as you do it more.”
England is in the stunning form under their new Test coach, Brendon McCullum, and Dravid said that he is looking forward to seeing how their batters counter India’s pace attack.
He added, “Lots of talks about England and their style of batting. I'm looking forward to it. The quality we have in our fast bowling is something that we take pride in. They have performed all over the world and I think it's going to be an interesting contest. It's about focusing on ourselves, than on the opposition.”
Dravid concluded, “Hitting the top of off stump is still a very good ball and it's about hitting that spot consistently. Good luck to them if they (England) have the skills to attack our best deliveries.”
(With PTI Inputs)
