Incredible To See Bowlers Getting The Opportunity To Lead The Side, Says Mahela Jayawardene

Sri Lanka cricket stalwart Mahela Jayawardene feels that of late the trend is changing to see bowlers as potential captains of their sides, especially after fast bowler Pat Cummins was named skipper of the Australia Test side ahead of the Ashes series.

On Thursday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced pace bowler Jasprit Bumarh would lead the India team in the rescheduled first Test against England at Edgbaston beginning later on Friday, after regular skipper Rohit Sharma was ruled out due to Covid-19.

"I think it's incredible if he (Bumrah) gets that opportunity. You rarely see fast bowlers being given that opportunity to captain because it's a lot of hard work, especially whenever you are playing Test cricket," said the Sri Lankan batting legend in a video posted by ICC on Friday.

"But we've seen the trend changing, with Pat Cummins taking over the Australian (Test) captaincy and it's great to see a bowler doing the job. They (bowlers) understand how the game flows, what needs to be done, and obviously your mind-set is to pick wickets... to be in a very positive mind frame. So, I think it will be brilliant (for Bumrah to be leading the Test side)," opined Jayawardene, who is also IPL franchise Mumbai Indians' head coach.

Disclosing Bumrah's passion for Test cricket, Jayawardene, who has been interacting with the India pacer on a regular basis at MI, said that the player is obsessed with red-ball cricket.

"It's just the passion that he has to wear whites. We've had this conversation many years ago when he started playing Test cricket for India, and the more time we spent in the Mumbai (Indians) camp, it seems that Bumrah always wants to talk about red-ball cricket, he just loves it.

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"It's especially amazing that you come across fast bowlers who enjoy being out there playing Test cricket. It's quite refreshing. He looks forward to each and every Test series. He doesn't want to miss a single Test match for India, which is an asset to the country as he priorities his Test cricket very much," added Jayawardene.