Follow UsOn Friday, after a gap of 35 years, Jasprit Bumrah became the second pacer in Indian cricket to lead the team in the longest format, after Kapil Dev. Ahead of Bumrah’s first match as India’s leader in the longest format, Indian head coach, Dravid stated that India need ‘Bumrah, the bowler’ more than ‘Bumrah, the skipper’.
“I think he (Bumrah) is a very thoughtful individual, understands the game very well. It's a new challenge. It's not easy for a fast bowler to captain, he's got to think about his own bowling too. Have had a few conversations with him, and told him that we need him more as a bowler,” Dravid stated before the start of the fifth Test.
Dravid also insisted that Bumrah will only improve as a captain as time passes. Alongside that, the former Indian skipper also was intrigued to watch the new English batting unit in action.
“Also he commands the respect of the team, which is very important as a leader. Bowling changes, field changes obviously will only get better with time. Captaincy is something that you'll get better at as you do it more. Lot of talks about England and their style of batting. I'm looking forward to it.”
At the same time, the Indian head coach stated that the Indian pacers won’t make it an easy challenge for the English batters. Dravid insisted that hitting the top of off stump will be the right length to target.
“The quality we have in our fast bowling is something that we take pride in. They have performed all over the world and I think it's going to be an interesting contest. It's about focusing on ourselves, than on the opposition. Hitting the top of off stump is still a very good ball and it's about hitting that spot consistently. If they (England) have the skill to attack our best deliveries, then good luck to them.”