The former premier all-rounder of the Indian team, Kapil Dev, has praised the stand-in captain, Jasprit Bumrah, for leading from the front and shouldering the responsibility of the side in the absence of their regular captain, Rohit Sharma, during the opening Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
India experienced their fragile batting line-up, getting bowled out for just 150 in the first innings, having opted to bat first, expecting the track to get quickened up in the rest of the contest. But Bumrah held his nerve and carried the burden of the side with three wickets in the opening spell to earn a 46-run vital lead in the second innings, having bowled out the home side for just 104.
The Ahmedabad-born enjoyed a superb bowling figure of 5/30, which is his 11th such landmark in the five-day format of the game. That’s also his seventh in the SENA countries, which put him at par with Kapil Dev, with the most number of such hauls in these nations.
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“Special congratulations must be given to Bumrah because it is very rare that bowlers are chosen as captains, and it feels very good to see him lead the way he has done.” Kapil Dev addressed the press conference during the Vishwa Samudra Golden Eagle Golf Championship.
Kapil Dev praises the contribution of standing captain Jasprit Bumrah for the Perth Test
The Chandigarh-born has also praised the pacer for bringing back the discussion of fast bowling in the country. Bumrah trapped the debutant opening batter, Nathan McSweeney, before finding the outside edge of Usman Khawaja from the change of ends.
Steven Smith walked out into the middle at that point, with hopes of getting a huge score, with his average of over 60s, against the Indian side. But Bumrah, with a perfect delivery, found him trapped before the stumps for a golden duck for the first time since 2014.
“I need not say anything- his records show. He is the top bowler in the world, what else do we need? I hadn’t thought before that a fast bowler would be discussed so much in India, but that is happening today, and I feel happy and proud about that.” Kapil Dev expressed in the same discussion.
Jasprit has picked up 178 wickets in 78 innings at an average of 20.57 with a strike rate of over 44 thanks to his five four-wicket hauls and 11 five-wicket hauls. When it comes to his record down under in the longest format of the game, the veteran has collected 38 wickets in 16 innings at an average of under 19.
Kapil Dev felt that the performance of the Indians side was terrific with the bat in hand during the second innings as they put up a 201-run opening stand, thanks to the 161-run knock from Yashasvi Jaiswal and later the unbeaten 100-run knock from Virat Kohli, which set the target of over 520 for the visiting side.
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The pressure was huge on the Blue Brigade on the back of their 0-3 clean sweep at home against New Zealand, as they were pushed a bit in the order for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final qualification.
“The team is playing well. They should win the first Test; positive thinking should always be there. It wasn’t expected that the team would play so well after the New Zealand series. You feel angry when they play badly but also love when they do well.” Kapil Dev shared his view.
“It is for all; it is a team game. One player has done the job today for the team. and tomorrow there will be someone else. The Indian team has played very well.” The 64-year-old concluded.
