Jasprit Bumrah or Rishabh Pant - who is more key to India's chances in BGT 2024-25?
The 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series is not far away, and the earlier confident scenario has changed in the blink of an eye. It has turned for the worse, courtesy of India's unprecedented whitewash loss to New Zealand at home.
Suddenly, the threat factor has diminished a lot, and with major concerns regarding, form, availability, and injuries, it is safe to say that the visitors head into the first Test in Perth as the underdogs.
A host of new and inexperienced names are set to make up a section of Team India's playing XI. Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harshit Rana are all favored to play in the upcoming contest, and it will not be smooth sailing for any, or all of them.
Naturally, it would be a tall ask for all the newbies to deliver from the word go. There will be some ups and downs as they settle into alien conditions, and in such a situation, the onus is on the established players to step up. The spotlight falls on several players, but considering all factors, the weight is heaviest on the shoulders of Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah.
The pair are yet to lose a series in Australia, and on that note, let us take a look at who among them is more key to India's chances in BGT 2024-25.
#1 Rishabh Pant is the big fish in a small pond
The declining impact of the Indian batting unit as a whole made Rishabh Pant a terrible miss during his recovery from the fateful car crash. A lot has been put down to the deteriorating surfaces at home, and the challenging ones away from home, but the wicketkeeper-batter is arguably the sole member who has negated the conditions the most.
It was no surprise that he was among the runs in his return to the Test arena, but it was also a reminder of how much his contributions are. Coming into bat in perilous situations almost on all occasions, his input has now become make or break for Team India.
Now with the batting unit at an all-time low, at least in recent times, after doubts over Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, and inexperience plaguing the rest, Pant is the standout name having had success in Australia before as well. He will be key in India's resistance against the potent bowling quartet. His early departure would expose the fragile lower middle order and questionable depth. As a result, in a way, Pant is easily one of the most crucial batters for India in the series, if not the most.
#2 Bumrah has got far more support from his department compared to Pant
Heading into the series as the No.3 ranked bowler in the world, it need not be explained why Bumrah will be a huge threat to Australians, and arguably one of their biggest obstacles in registering a series win.
Bumrah, as the undisputed spearhead, will have a huge say in the proceedings without a doubt, but his route might just be a bit easier than Pant. The conditions suit his kind of bowling, and while the imperious strength of the opposition is an equally negating factor, Bumrah does have better support compared to Pant.
Although Mohammed Siraj is not in the best of form, he is bound to find rhythm in seam-friendly conditions. On the other hand, Akash Deep has settled into the pace attack quite well, and has delivered almost in all of his appearances so far. All of his matches have come on home soil, and his numbers and impact are bound to increase in Australia.
#3 Two certified match-winners that India are overly reliant on
At the end of the day, India are heavily reliant on both Bumrah and Pant, and the chances of victory drastically reduce if both of them are not on song. The visitors need the duo to be right up there in the run-scoring and wicket-taking charts if they aspire for anything positive from this series.
That being said, Pant slightly edges out Bumrah in being key for the series, just because of how vulnerable the rest of the batting unit looks. If Bumrah bowls a poor spell, for instance, there is a chance that his pace bowling partner picks up from the other end to balance out the proceedings.
However, if Pant misfires, the consequences are far more dire, making his contributions more crucial. He has the ability to take out Nathan Lyon off the attack, and his quick scoring rate would be a huge blessing for the batters around him who will need all the time in the world to adjust to the conditions and the experienced bowlers.
His presence at the crease ensures runs, and that in turn means that there will be no shortage of momentum. If that is not the case, Australia could easily choke the Indian batters from both ends, which will inevitably lead to a disaster.