BGT 2024-25: "I go with my instincts.." Jasprit Bumrah doesn't want to copy the captaincy style of Rohit or Kohli

Jasprit Bumrah will captain India in the Perth test as Rohit Sharma is on paternal leave.

Jasprit Bumrah will be captaining India in the first test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. This match will be played in Perth from November 22. This will also be the second time Bumrah will captain the Indian team in test cricket.

This will also be the first time in Border-Gavaskar Trophy history that two pacers will be captaining India and Australia respectively.

Jasprit Bumrah has been handed the captaincy responsibility as Rohit Sharma will miss the Perth test due to birth of his second child on November 15.

During the pre-match press conference, Jasprit Bumrah spoke about his thought process while captaining India, and how has learned about leadership from the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.  

“You have to find your own way, you can’t blindly copy anyone. Obviously, both of them (Rohit and Virat) are very successful and have gotten a lot of results, but my way… I’ve never followed a copybook plan in terms of my bowling as well, as you can see. I’ve never followed a model and I go with my instincts. That’s how I’ve always played my cricket,” Bumrah was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Bumrah, who made his India test debut in 2018, has 173 wickets in 40 matches and 32 of those have come in 7 tests he has played in Australia.

“I have lots of faith in my instincts and guts”- Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is confident that his instincts and gut will not fail him during his captaincy duties in the Perth test. Bumrah last captained India in the Edgbaston test against England in 2022, which India lost.

“I have a lot of faith in my instincts and gut, so that is what I go with and tactically as a bowler you always make a lot of plans, you’re well aware of what to do and what adjustments you have to make during the game. I try to cover all bases as much as I can,” Bumrah said.   

Bumrah will enter the Perth test as both India’s captain and the senior-most fast bowler. Juggling two vital roles will be difficult in a setting where time will be of the essence. But Bumrah sees things differently.

“I can manage myself the best when I am the captain because I know when I am fresh when I have to push myself and I know when I have to take extra responsibility. Obviously there are different challenges but there are advantages as well, and I look at the advantage that I understand bowling. So you understand when the wicket is changing, what changes you have to make, what field settings are good at this moment,” he added.

“Obviously bowlers do a lot more research and are data driven as well, [more] than batters because that’s how the game is headed. So I look at the positives more than the negatives. Yes there will be challenges and you want to be tested, and you want to have challenges,” Bumrah signed off.

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