When the fourth Test ended last September at the Kennington Oval in London India After leading 2-1 in the fifth and final Test, not many would have imagined a lot of changes in both the teams.
That the fifth Test will be played after nine months, starting today at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The teams will have new head coaches – Rahul Dravid for India and Brendon McCullum for England. That teams will have new Test captains – Jasprit Bumrah for India and Ben Stokes for England.
Read also: Edgbaston One Last Swing For Virat Kohli and senior test cricketers of India
For India, it is not India’s new all-format Test captain Rohit Sharma but has been down with Covid since arriving in England. No KL is Rahul. Ajinkya Rahane is no more.
In Bumrah, the 28-year-old right-arm pacer who has led the Indian bowling attack over the years, the team has a new Test captain, the 36th in the history of Indian Test cricket. If you have been on top in the past like Ghulam Ahmed, Bishan Singh Bedi, S Venkataraghavan and Anil Kumble, Bumrah is also the first specialist bowler to lead India in the longest format.
However, Bumrah is a stop-gap arrangement, and full-time captain Rohit returns to the top once he is fit, and it will be some time before India are at one again after the unfinished Test series that ends on July 5. Will play test If not before, he still has a lot of expectations to fulfill.
First and foremost, Bumrah would be making history to win a Test series in England if he leads the team to a win or a draw at Edgbaston, succeeding Ajit Wadekar (1971), Kapil Dev (1986) and Rahul Dravid ( 2007) followed. The captain who won the Test series at The Old Blighty. Of course, much of the credit for this should go to Virat Kohli, who was at the helm when India put up a stellar performance in four Tests last year, drawing both at both London venues – Lord’s and The Oval – at Trent Bridge. Won the test. Going down at Headingley in Leeds.
Read also: An undercooked India I series win against a red-hot England
Whether Bumrah is the right candidate for Test captaincy in the current circumstances – with Rohit on Covid and with KL Rahul, the designated vice-captain unavailable due to a groin injury and the latter having recently undergone a hernia surgery – is debatable . Or Kohli should have been asked to lead Australia in the Adelaide Test late last year after new Test captain Pat Cummins was dropped after coming into close contact with a Covid positive person) and a He was leading India for the last time. To maintain consistency from the previous series in England is another point of discussion.
But Bumrah, though without prior captaincy experience, should be comfortable in the role and not pose any difficulties. Firstly, he has been a senior cricketer, leading the Indian bowling and taking 123 Test wickets in 29 matches since his debut in South Africa in January 2018. He has been mentoring other Indian bowlers and continues to play the role that Zaheer Khan used to do. Do for Team India in his later years.
Bumrah is a thinking bowler who often delivered when the team needed it the most. He has taken 18 wickets in four Tests in England last year and a total of 32 wickets in seven Tests there on two tours. He has played four of his Tests abroad and is familiar with the conditions England has to offer.
His experience of being a senior bowler and having played under several captains in the past will surely put him in a good position. Besides that, Bumrah has other people in the team, especially the bowlers, to look up to. He also has Kohli left behind for advice.
The understanding and performance of the current Indian team is such that there will be no captaincy pressure on Bumrah. It is only a privileged post that Bumrah will walk out in Team India’s blazer for the toss, decide on the field and implement whatever is planned in the dressing room.
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal said that one who values execution of skills on the field and works hard on his bowling, Bumrah will also have to think of 10 other cricketers who could be something new for him.
Lal told news18.com: “The mindset of a fast bowler being Test captain will always be to take wickets. The only thing he has to do is manage the other 10 players on the field. He has to act according to the situation, who to bowl, when to bowl and all that. It is very important to take decisions according to the situation of the game. He can be more positive in his approach, always looking to win Tests.”
There have been pure fast bowlers who have been captains, and pure bowlers who have led India in the past.
Former India captain and flamboyant opener K Srikkanth told this website that Bumrah is “a very stable mind, very intelligent and very intelligent. I wish him all the best and I am sure he will do a wonderful job.
Srikanth did not attach much importance to a fast bowler leading the country in Tests. “It doesn’t matter as long as he knows what he is doing. In the past there have been many fast bowlers who have led their respective countries in Tests. England was led by Bob Willis, West Indies was led by Courtney Walsh was leading the way. I am sure Bumrah will do a good job as Test captain.”
Former England captain Mike Brearley in his book ‘The Art of Captaincy’ had objected to bowlers, especially fast bowlers, being Test captains. He wrote in the book, first published in 1985: “…it requires an extraordinary character to know when to bowl, to throw the bowling ball with all its energy into the ball of aggression, and to respond to the needs of the team.” To be sensitive, both tactically and psychologically. Willis in particular has always locked himself in a cocoon of concentration and fury with his bowling. Recommending a fast bowler as a last resort to our headhunters unless, perhaps, they possess the qualities of Mike Proctor.”
Lal thought of Bumrah either over-bowling himself or under-bowling himself as captain. “There should be no under-ball or over-ball tendency. Not these days when you have three-four bowlers to share the load, each doing five-six overs in a spell, and a good spell can mean an extra two or three overs. It depends on the situation of the game,” Lal said.
Former India left-arm spinner and selector, Venkatapathy Raju felt Bumrah’s long standing status as a senior bowler would put him in a good position. “Bumrah is a very thinking bowler, who leads the country’s bowling attack. When it comes to bowling, Bumrah has been a part of the think-tank. He has previously been the vice-captain. After a long time we are getting a chance to see a fast bowler leading the country. This is a better change for India’s fast bowlers,” Raju told News18.
Raju was concerned about the leadership of a fast bowler who could over-ball himself. “That’s the only concern. You have to plan yourself. What Kapil Dev did as captain was that he, being a senior bowler, took the responsibility of leading the attack and managing his team. Bumrah This is a good opportunity for him. He has been a part of the Indian team for a long time, a part of many plans in the dressing room. Bumrah is a strike bowler and I am sure he will lead from the front. A positive and thinking bowler, me I am sure Bumrah will take his decisions effectively and successfully,” he said.
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos And cricket score Here