Indian legendary pacer Jasprit Bumrah is all set to captain the Indian side for the first time in the longest format of the game. In Rohit Sharma’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah, the vice-captain, took charge of the role.
Rohit Sharma, who will miss the first test at Perth scheduled for the 22nd of November, will make himself available for the second match at Adelaide. Until then Bumrah heads the Indian side, and possibly KL Rahul steps in as the Indian opener, replacing the skipper.
During a press statement, the captain hinted towards Mohammad Shami’s possible return to the Indian side amidst the BGT. Shami has previously been one of the most experienced bowlers for India on Australian soil, with 31 wickets to his name with the red-ball.
Even Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel earlier clarified that the Indian management is keeping a close watch on the pace maestro and can look to bring him during the second half of the series, which might be before the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Shami recently made his return to red-ball cricket with a Ranji Trophy appearance for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh. Shami picked up seven wickets in the game across the two innings while also scoring quick 37* runs in the game, which Bengal won.
“Mohammad Shami is an integral part of this team. He’s started bowling, and the management is keeping a close eye on him; hopefully, you might see him here,” reportedly said Bumrah.
India to play the Perth Test with only one spinner and a deck of pace bowlers
India will possibly have Ravichandran Ashwin as the only spinner, as the legend has been India’s lead spinner, though his records don’t seem very impressive in the island nation.
While reports have claimed that Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy might be looking to make their debut for India in the longest format of the game; however, other than these two, skipper Jasprit Bumrah will have either Prasidh Krishna or Mohammad Siraj sharing the new ball at the Optus Stadium.
