India vs Sri Lanka: Vice-captaincy will make Jasprit Bumrah more confident on-field, feels Rohit Sharma

By IANS

LUCKNOW: India captain Rohit Sharma feels that the vice-captaincy duties will make pacer Jasprit Bumrah more confident of the things he wants to do on the field. Bumrah has been appointed as the vice-captain for the T20Is against Sri Lanka. It is the second successive month where Bumrah will act as a deputy to the skipper.

Earlier, Bumrah had served as India’s vice-captain for the ODI series against South Africa when KL Rahul was the captain and handled that duty during the second Test against South Africa at Johannesburg.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really too much matter whether it is a batter of bowler being the vice-captain. It is the mind that matters of an individual and Jasprit Bumrah has a great mind of the game. I have seen it closely. Honestly, yes, it is a good way for him to step into the leadership role now. For him, he has taken his game to the next level. I am sure he wants to continue to do that even further,” said Sharma in the virtual press conference on the eve of first T20I against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

“But this is only going to add and get him more confident in whatever he wants to do on the field. It is nice to have him as vice-captain of the team for this particular series. Let’s hope everything works out pretty well. I know him closely and talk to him a lot about cricket. I do understand what sort of cricketing brain he has; it is nice to have him in that role,” added Sharma, who is team-mates with Bumrah for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sharma further pointed out that it is up to wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson now to make the most of his batting potential. Samson is back into the national fold after seven months as Rishabh Pant has been given a break. But he hasn’t been able to make the most out of 10 T20I appearances, scoring just 117 runs at an average of 11.70.

“Speaking of Samson, that guy has got talent man. Whenever we have seen him bat in the IPL, he has just produced an innings where everyone goes over the moon watching that innings. He has got the skillset to succeed. Now, that is the whole point about this sport. A lot of people have skillsets and talent. How you utilise it is the most critical part. It is up to Sanju now to understand how he wants to utilise his talent and how he can maximise it.”

Just like chief selector Chetan Sharma said on Saturday that Samson is in the scheme of things for the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year, Rohit too said in the same vein. “Because as team management, we see a lot of potential, talent and match-winning abilities in that individual. I hope we give him that confidence whenever he gets an opportunity and understands that. He is definitely into consideration, which is why he is part of the team.

“His backfoot play is superb, some of the shots he has played during the IPL, the pick-up pull, cut shots, standing and delivering over bowler’s head. Those kinds of shots are not easy to play. When you go to Australia, you need that kind of shot-making ability and Samson definitely has it in him. I wish him the best and can just hope he utilises his potential to the maximum.”