Ahead of India’s Ireland tour 2023, Jasprit Bumrah’s return to the Indian side following his recovery is highly anticipated among the fans. The pacer will be leading the side for the three-match T20I series against Ireland.
Why Bumrah Named as Captain for Ireland T20Is
India is scheduled to play the T20I series against Ireland between August 18 and 23. Former cricketer Saba Karim thinks that the captaincy will help Jasprit Bumrah to understand his body and it will help the pacer to return to the Indian side.
The Pacer’s return to the side is highly expected after his injury on September 2022. His injury and his recovery time have taken a long duration which became a challenging one. He was sidelined from important tournaments like Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup due to his back injury.
Later he was added to the squad for an ODI series against Sri Lanka in January 2023 but was eventually ruled out due to back pain.
He also missed the IPL 2023 season, the four-match Test series against Australia, and the WTC finals against Australia.
His return for the Ireland series will be crucial time for his preparation for the World Cup 2023. His form and fitness will be closely monitored and the captaincy will add another responsibility to draw best out of him at pressure.
Saba Karim says that the captaincy will not add more burden to the pacer and it will be helpful for the player to clearly review his body and fitness.
“The team management and selectors would be more concerned about Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness levels and match fitness.
“This (series) is a T20 format and it (captaincy) won’t add more burden on him. It will only help him to understand his body better. They (India) are playing three T20 games, he can play at different phases,” said Karim.
“Maybe he can bowl one over in the start, then one over in the middle and a couple of overs in the back end of the innings. He can do all of that as a captain.
Instead of seeing it as pressure, I feel it is an area where Bumrah can contribute and with his experience of playing for a long time, he can use it to understand his body better as a leader, which is the way I am looking at it,” he added.
He also said about the information he received from NCA and concluded that team management want to focus on Bumrah’s match fitness.
“Whatever I have heard from the NCA, he’s been through match stimulations and has played a couple of matches in Bengaluru. So, all of that really augurs well for the Indian side. At this stage, India selectors are focusing on Jasprit Bumrah’s match fitness and that’s why he’s chosen in the squad.”
“Being the captain for this tour is because he’s the senior-most member of the team and I don’t think there’s any thought right now than his current fitness levels. So for this series, the close look of Indian selectors and management will be on the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna,” he concluded.
The Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to be held after India’s tour of Ireland. The pressure in him may challenge his potential who is expected to bowl 10 overs on big events like Asia Cup and World Cup 2023.
