India vs Sri Lanka: Jasprit Bumrah, Team India’s Test vice-captain | Cricket News

CHANDIGARH: Set to feature in his first Test as vice-captain, a role that has predominantly been assigned to prominent batters in the team over the past decade or so, premier pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah said on Tuesday his role as a senior member of the side was well-defined irrespective of the vice-captaincy.
“I don’t look at it as a particular position, (or) that a bowler or a batter is a leader. As a senior member of the team, you have to help the side in whatever capacity you can. For me it is just a post.

“Yes, it’s a great opportunity that has presented itself and I’m very happy to do that. It depends on how you handle the situation and how tactically strong you are,” Bumrah said, adding, “So I’ll try to help Rohit (Sharma, Test captain) in whatever way I can.”
Bumrah, who made his Test debut in 2018 under Virat Kohli, wished his former captain the best ahead of Kohli’s landmark 100th appearance in the longest format. The pacer called it a reflection of the legendary batter’s dedication.

“It (100th Test) is always a special achievement for a player. You know it is a testimony to his hard work, dedication…(playing) 100 Test matches for your country is a great occasion and he has contributed a lot to the success of the Indian team and will contribute a lot more in the future as well,” Bumrah said. “It is another feather in his (Kohli’s) cap. I just wish him the best and congratulate him for the achievement.”

Jasprit Bumrah (ANI Photo)
Asked if the team has planned on anything to gift Kohli on the momentous occasion, Bumrah said, “If the Indian team wins, then there is no best (sic) present than that. But he (Kohli) as a cricketer would like to give his best.”
The Test was initially supposed to be played without crowds until the organisers relented and allowed 50% attendance. “(If) the crowds come, it is good for the energy, but that is something that we cannot control. We don’t have any power regarding that, we don’t decide the rules,” Bumrah said. “For us what we can control is our energy, so we are trying to focus on that.”
In the batting department, meanwhile, India are facing a problem of plenty going into the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts here on Friday. Shreyas Iyer is in red hot form and the likes of Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari are looking to cement their places in the playing XI. Bumrah said the team management was yet to take a call on the team composition.

Shubman Gill (AFP Photo)
Both Gill and Vihari have been in and out of the team. However, in the absence of the established duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the two-match Test series presents a very good opportunity for the duo. Not to forget Iyer, who recently got a hundred and a fifty on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur and was in red-hot form in the T20Is against Lanka.
In Tuesday’s optional practice session, both Gill and Vihari were seen sweating it out at the nets. “We have just had a look at the track, but it’s a little too early as there are still a couple of days to go for the Test. We had an optional session, and everybody looked in touch, that’s the best part,” Bumrah said.