There is still no confirmation on whether the regular Test captain of India, Rohit Sharma, will be available for the opening encounter of the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. In that scenario, Ricky Ponting, the former Australian captain, has made his choice for the standing captain.
At the end of the Mumbai Test against New Zealand to finish the home red-ball season, Rohit stated that he is yet to confirm any update on his availability for the Perth game later this month. Ricky Ponting feels that the vice-captain of the Test side of India, Jasprit Bumrah, is among the likely contenders to lead the team in his stead, who captained the side against England in Birmingham in 2022.
The ICC Hall of Famer trusts that the premier fast bowler for India is experienced enough to shoulder the responsibility as the leader and take charge of their pace unit, as he also touched on how Pat Cummins has made a case for the Indian quick-to-win place.
“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?” Ricky Ponting expressed during the recent review of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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The Ahmedabad-born has been part of seven red-ball clashes down under in history, where he has picked up 32 wickets at an average of 21.25 and a strike rate of over 51 with the help of one five-wicket haul thanks to the best figure of 6/33 in an inning.
“But someone as experienced as Jasprit will understand the times when he needs to be bowling when he needs to have a spell.” The Tasmania-born top-order batter remarked.
Bumrah made a huge contribution to their maiden Test series win in those conditions, finishing as the joint leading wicket-taker in four Tests with 21 scalps in eight innings at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 44.90 with the best of 6/33.
Ricky Ponting backs Jasprit Bumrah to lead India’s Test team in Perth
In the 18-member squad that the selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided on, the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant, all were part of India’s last two Test series triumph in 2018/19 and 2020/21.
Ricky Ponting has highlighted the vast experience of the Blue Brigade and feels that it would be valuable for the standing captain to earn the right message and knowledge in the game.
“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.” The former World Cup-winning leader of the side shed light.
He compared how the presence of Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, and Justin Langer around him in the Australian team was helpful during his spell.
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“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.” Ricky Ponting concluded.
The series will begin in Perth before they move to Adelaide for the day-night fixture, followed by the encounter in Brisbane. The Boxing Day will take place in Melbourne before the day-night fixture in Sydney.