Jasprit Bumrah became only the second fast bowler to lead India’s Test side in the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston. By the time, the first inning concluded, Bumrah had impressed everyone not so much by his captaincy but by his batting as he went to score 29 runs in an over against a bowler who has more than 550 Test wickets to his name, Stuart Broad.
India reached 416 in their first inning and the bowlers did a fabulous job to restrict the home side to 284. But in the second innings, the tourists were bundled out for 245 on a pitch that was supposedly getting easier to bat on as the match progressed.
On the fourth and fifth days of the Test match, England turned the tables on India, largely thanks to the two men who are in the forms of their lives, Joe Root (142*) and Jonny Bairstow (114*).
Bumrah shouldn't have been the captain in the first place, according to former cricketer Karsan Ghavri, because he has no experience in leading a side.
“Bumrah has never captained any team. Forget about a Ranji Trophy team, he has not even led a club side. Look, a captain’s mind is totally different. He needs to keep thinking about making field placements and effecting bowling changes and strategizing throughout. In the dressing room, I’m sure [head coach] Rahul Dravid and the other coaches made a lot of plans, but when the 11 players go onto the field, the captain must execute them. Bumrah couldn’t do that," Ghavri told Mid-Day.
A fast bowler needs to handle numerous facets of the game, and Ghavri noted that Bumrah was not the best candidate for captaincy in the series-deciding match because of the additional burden.
According to Ghavri, Virat Kohli, the former India skipper, could have taken over as captain if Rohit Sharma was not available.
“When Rohit Sharma was not available for this Test [having tested positive for COVID-19], Kohli should have stepped up and said that I will take up the responsibility to lead this team. Winning and losing is a part of the game, but in such a difficult situation, I felt Kohli should have put his hand up," he stated.
With 737 runs in 5 Tests at a staggering 105.29 apiece, Root was rightfully named the player of the series. Bairstow was awarded the player of the match award for hitting a ton in both the innings of the Test (106 and 114*).
The ‘Men in Blue’ will now take on the same opposition but under a new captain Jos Butler in the first of three T20Is. The T20I series will be followed by three-match ODI series.
(MID-DAY INPUTS)
