Ponting backs Bumrah to step up as India captain in Rohit’s absence at Perth against Australia

New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes Jasprit Bumrah has the ability to effectively lead the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence for the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy game in Perth, starting on November 22.

With Rohit stating he is ‘not sure’ of his availability for the first Test against Australia in Perth due to personal reasons, Bumrah is among the likely contenders to lead India in the marquee series opener.

Bumrah had previously captained India in the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham in 2022, when Covid-19 diagnosis ruled out Rohit from playing the match.

“Yeah, that (captaincy) is probably the hardest thing for him. I think that was always the question on Pat Cummins when he became the Australian Test captain as well. How much is he going to bowl himself? Is he going to bowl himself too much? Is he not going to bowl himself enough?

“But someone as experienced as Jasprit will understand the times when he needs to be bowling, when he needs to have a spell. Guys like that tend to thrive on the extra pressure and the responsibility. He's always been the leader of the attack for a long time anyway. Whether that's red ball, T20 or ODIs, he's the main man,” said Ponting on The ICC Review show.

He also thinks Bumrah would benefit as a captain by the presence of experienced campaigners like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant, all of whom have previously toured Australia.

“In that Indian team, there's a lot of experience around him. And it's really important, I think, that you use the experience around you even when you are the captain, and just ask the appropriate questions at the right time because no matter how much cricket we've played, we're not always going to be right,” he added.

Ponting signed off by admitting Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had helped him a lot during his time as the Australia Test captain. “I liked to ask the questions of Gilchrist, Hayden, and Langer. Ask them where they thought the game was, and what we needed to do. At the end of the day, as a captain, you're the one that's making that final decision, but whatever advice you can get along the way can only be good.”

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