“He’s a quality player”: Pujara lauds India vice-captain Bumrah ahead of BGT series

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 21 (ANI): Veteran India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara hailed India vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) and said that he is a “quality player”.

After months of anticipation, India and Australia, two heavyweights in Test cricket, are set to renew their fierce rivalry in Perth starting Friday.

Bumrah will lead the Indian side in the Perth Test as Rohit Sharma will miss the opening game of the series.

Speaking on Star Sports Press Room, Cheteshwar Pujara called Bumrah a “smart” bowler since he knows his strengths and strategies well.

“He’s a quality player. Bumrah is someone who is very smart. As a bowler, you need to know your strengths and strategies really, really well. Whenever he’s running in, he’s always looking to pick wickets. When you want to pick wickets as a bowler, you need to think about the game. You need to think about how you can get a batter out, what the options are, and what plans you need to set to get the batter out. That is something which will help him as a captain. When you take the entire team as a captain, you need to know what strategy to take against each batter,” Pujara was quoted in a release from Star Sports.

He added that Bumrah is very supportive of his teammates.

“On the field, you need to know how many overs to bowl or when to rotate your bowlers. Bumrah understands that. He’s also very supportive of all the players. He understands what is required of a particular player and won’t put too much pressure on anyone. If someone isn’t performing well, he’ll always be there to support them. The one thing I would say is that when he’s captaining, he has to think for himself. There will be many inputs, but as captain, the final decision should always be his call,” he added.

The much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar series will kick off on November 22 with the first Test in Perth.

The second Test, scheduled from December 6 to 10 at the Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under lights. The third Test will take place at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 14 to 18.

The iconic Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will run from December 26 to 30, marking the penultimate match of the series.

The fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, set for January 3 to 7, will bring the series to an exciting conclusion.