"I'm not going to tell him that I'm going to leave" - Jasprit Bumrah quips about handing back captaincy to Rohit Sharma
Jasprit Bumrah led the front in the Perth Test against Australia as India registered a 295-run win in the opening game of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Despite the fantastic performance, the pacer will have to hand back the reins to Rohit Sharma, who has arrived in Australia. He, however, quipped that he won't tell Rohit that he's going to leave captaincy.
Rohit missed the first Test against Australia in Perth to be with his family for the birth of his second child. He landed Down Under in the midst of the first Test and has begun his practice sessions. The 37-year-old will take over the captaincy from Bumrah when the second Test begins in Adelaide on December 6.
At the post-match press conference, Bumrah was asked how he would tackle the tricky situation of handing over the captaincy to Rohit, especially after the manner in which he rallied the team in Perth, leading from the front. Coming up with a light-hearted reply, the 30-year-old said:
“I'm not going to tell him that I'm going to leave (captaincy)."
On a serious note, Bumrah went on to add that he's just filling in for the captain and is happy to have chipped in during Rohit's absence.
“I said that in the previous press conference as well, he's the captain and he's done a phenomenal job. I was filling in for him. I had discussions when he was in India, you know, discussing how we are shaping up. But, yeah, But, yeah, I'm going to help him in whatever capacity I can,” the fast bowler said.
Bumrah was the Player of the Match in Perth for claiming eight wickets as India made a superb comeback after being bowled out for 150 on Day 1.
"You have to start from zero" - Jasprit Bumrah on pink-ball Test in Adelaide
While India came up with a terrific all-round effort in Perth, Bumrah admitted that visitors will have to start from zero in the second Test in Adelaide, which will be a pink-ball contest.
“Adelaide might be totally different. It's a pink ball. So, yes, you can take the confidence from here. But, again, you have to start from zero. You have to build on this confidence," he said.
“You have to take learnings from this game as well. So we're going to take it in our stride and, you know, put our best foot forward,” Bumrah went on to add.
Australia have played 12 pink-ball Tests at home, winning 11 and losing one. They went down to the West Indies by eight runs in Brisbane in January 2024.