Last Updated on 2 weeks by Charbel Coorey
Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins will lead India and Australia respectively in the opening Test of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), something former England captain Michael Vaughan is excited for.
The Pat Cummins-led side would want to settle the scores and win their first Test series against India since 2014/15. With Rohit Sharma unavailable for the first Test, Jasprit Bumrah is set to lead the Indian team on Friday. Thus, it will be exciting to see two pacers lead their respective sides. Prior to this, Bumrah captained India in just one Test. It was against England in 2022, which India went on to lose.
“We’ve got two fast bowlers captaining which is…..I mean I don’t know if it’s ever happened before,” said Vaughan, speaking to Arvind Kalyana Krishnan during the Kayo Sports’ Summer of Cricket event organised by Fox Cricket.
Michael Vaughan believes Jasprit Bumrah is the best going around
How Australia handles Jasprit Bumrah could go a long way to deciding this series. Of course, that is easier said than done. India’s lead fast bowler has 173 wickets in 40 Tests at an extraordinary average of 20.57.
“Without doubt he’s [Bumrah] the best bowler in the world. That’s any day, in my opinion. What will happen with the captaincy? Well, we’ll have to wait and see but I think he will be absolutely fine,” said Vaughan.
Owing to the hype around the two teams, all eyes are on the Indian and Australian players ahead of the first Test in Perth. The BGT rivalry has come on leaps and bounds, with memorable storylines over the years. It is to be noted that the last time India toured Australia for a Test series in 2020-21, history was created as the Asian side managed to script history and went on to win a memorable series.
However, Vaughan still believes the Ashes is the premier rivalry. “The Ashes by a country mile,” said the former England captain with a smile, a year before Ben Stokes’ team are due to play an Ashes series downunder.
Below is the audio of Arvind Kalyana Krishnan’s interview with Vaughan ahead of the first Test at Perth:
