Jasprit Bumrah is acting as a deputy to the skipper, for the second successive month. While the ongoing home assignment against Sri Lanka remains Rohit Sharma’s second T20I series as full-time captain, premier paceman Jasprit Bumrah will look to leave his mark after in the series, which is a part of the team’s lead-up to this year’s T20 World Cup.
Jasprit Bumrah also has the added responsibility of vice-captaincy as well. With plenty of experience under his belt, Jasprit Bumrah is currently looked upon as one of the leaders in the group. He previously had served as India’s vice-captain for the ODI series against South Africa when KL Rahul was the captain.
Jasprit Bumrah Will Be Helped By Added Responsibility According To Zaheer Khan
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan also believes in Jasprit Bumrah’s elevation as vice-captain will augur well for him. Zaheer Khan, who is fifth on the list of most international wickets for India, backed Jasprit Bumrah to thrive and become more influential after the promotion.
“I’ve got a smile when that kind of responsibility is put on a bowler. Added responsibility is always going to help him. It’s definitely going to bump him up. It’s going to help him start thinking about the game at a higher level. Sometimes when you’re thinking about just your bowling… and you kind of restrict yourself. I feel the vice-captaincy has come at a good time in his career. One can definitely see his growth as a cricketer after being given the role,” Zaheer Khan said.
Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the white-ball series against West Indies, made a comeback on Thursday against Sri Lanka in the first T20I. He didn’t manage to pick up a wicket but conceded just 19 runs in his three overs. Jasprit Bumrah’s figures in the 2nd T20I were 1/24.
“Generally you start thinking about the game at a deeper level. You start thinking about things that you were not thinking about earlier. I’m sure he will be in conversation with the team think tank about the decisions being made in a certain way. You understand and challenge yourself in that fashion. This captaincy responsibility is definitely going to help Bumrah going forward in his career,” Zaheer further added.
Zaheer Khan said Jasprit Bumrah can deliver fast yorkers and awkward length deliveries with a variation of pace.
Jasprit Bumrah Has A reat Mind Of The Game : Rohit Sharma
Earlier, captain Rohit Sharma had also said that vice-captaincy duties will help Jasprit Bumrah gain more confidence and the Indian pace spearhead has got the cricket brain to step into the leadership role.
“Jasprit Bumrah has a great mind of the game. I have seen it closely. Honestly, yes, it is a good way for him to step into the leadership role now. For him, he has taken his game to the next level. I am sure he wants to continue to do that even further,” Rohit had said in the presser before the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka.
“But this is only going to add and get him more confident in whatever he wants to do on the field. It is nice to have him as vice-captain of the team for this particular series. Let’s hope everything works out pretty well. I know him closely and talk to him a lot about cricket. I do understand what sort of cricketing brain he has; it is nice to have him in that role.”
Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 74 off 44 balls trumped Pathum Nissanka’s 75 off 53, while Ravindra Jadeja’s 45 not out off 18 outshone Dasun Shanaka’s 47 not out off 19 as India chased down Sri Lanka’s 183 for 5 with seven wickets and 17 balls to spare in the second T20I in Dharamsala. The win, India’s 11th on the trot in T20Is, gave the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.