NEWS
Follow UsRohit Sharma is once again banking on speedster Jasprit Bumrah to deliver a decisive punch for the Indian team in the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, beginning December 26 (Thursday) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
"A lot of people from the opposition camp talk about him, how (they) need to handle him and stuff like that. Usually, those are the discussions that happen everywhere (but) the impact that he's had on the series so far is massive,” Rohit said about Bumrah in a pre-match press conference on December 24 (Tuesday) in Melbourne.
However, Rohit hoped that Bumrah, who has taken 21 wickets in three Tests so far at an unbelievable average of 10.9, would continue to impact the game as the last two games will decide whether India play the World Test Championship final for the third time in a row or not.
"I hope he continues to do that because these (next) two games are very important for us. How he operates is very plain and simple. He's got so much belief in his own skill set that there's not much discussion that we need to have with him … it makes it easy for me.
"It's always nice to have somebody like him in your team. When he's in that form, the job of the other bowlers becomes a little easier, all they need to do is try to maintain that pressure,” said the 37-year-old Indian skipper.
Apart from Bumrah though, no other Indian bowler has been that effective. Though Mohammed Siraj has 13 wickets to his tally, he has leaked runs at the wrong time. Therefore, Rohit believes that others would have to give good support to Bumrah for India to win the game.
"Bumrah is certainly making the most of it. Siraj and the other guys who are bowling around him know they need to step up to get the job done as well.
"They're trying hard. They've been a little unlucky as well, a lot of plays and misses, certain opportunities have gone down as well – those things can happen,” Rohit said about other bowlers.
While saying that "Modern-day greats will figure out their way," Rohit did shy away from discussing Virat Kohli’s form in public. However, he could get away from the pertinent question of where he will bat in the Boxing Day Test.
"Let's not worry about that – who bats where is something we need to figure out within ourselves. It's not a thing that I should be discussing at every press conference where I should be batting. Whatever it takes for our team to look good, or gives us the best chance to succeed, we'll do that,” he said.
After the first three Tests, India won the Perth game by 295 runs, lost Adelaide by 10 wickets and then managed to survive through Gabba. The series stands at 1-1 with two matches to go in Melbourne and Sydney.
