MS Dhoni’s bestie delivers blunt verdict on Jasprit Bumrah's leadership, compares him to World Cup winner

Former India batter Suresh Raina feels that Jasprit Bumrah has a great chance to showcase his captaincy skills during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Raina views this as a great opportunity for Bumrah and even compared him with Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins.

India's regular captain Rohit Sharma is all set to miss out on one of the Test matches in the upcoming series against Australia as he needs paternity leave. In Rohit's absence, Jasprit Bumrah, India's vice-captain for the series, will take over the role of captaincy.

Also read: Virat Kohli's future in Team India made public by Suresh Raina

New opportunity for Jasprit Bumrah: Suresh Raina

During an interview with Timesofindia.com, Suresh Raina was asked about the new opportunity for Jasprit Bumrah. Raina called this a great opportunity for Bumrah and called him a leader with a good cricketing brain.

"For Bumrah, it's going to be a new opportunity. I think he is a good leader and has a good cricketing brain. Even Gauti bhai (head coach Gautam Gambhir) said in the media that Jasprit (Bumrah) has that astute leadership (quality), and I think he will be different," Raina said.

Jasprit Bumrah is seen as a good captain in the Indian team management but has led the team in just one Test so far. He was India's captain in the rescheduled fifth Test against England played at Edgbaston, Birmingham when Rohit Sharma was ruled out due to Covid-19.

Bumrah was good for the most part of the match as India dominated the home side. However, a breathtaking partnership between Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow spoiled India's plans and England levelled the series 2-2.

Suresh Raina compares Jasprit Bumrah's captaincy skills to Pat Cummins

Raina even compared Jasprit Bumrah's captaincy skills to Pat Cummins, Australia's Test and ODI captain. Raina claimed that Cummins has led Australia to a World Cup win and has done really well as a player as well. He even claimed that Bumrah has a chance to be a future captain for India in Tests.

"Like if you see Pat Cummins, he won the World Cup for them (Australia), has done really well as a player and as a captain. I think Bumrah is close to that. If you look at it from the point of an opportunity, it's a gun opportunity for him. If he does well, I think we will have a future leader in Test cricket," the former India cricketer added.

Pat Cummins has a great record as Australia's captain, having won the World Test Championship (WTC) title and the ODI World Cup title, both in 2023. He will also lead in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.

Leaders of the bowling attack

Both Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins will be crucial for their respective teams in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Both of them are world-class and the leaders of their respective bowling attacks.

The first Test between of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 will be played in Perth from November 22. Also, the highly anticipated series will be vital for both teams as they look to find a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.