Bumrah and Cummins on creating legacy as fast-bowling captains and wanting to stand out as captains from the rest.
Bumrah and Cummins sparkled in their freshly pressed Test whites on Thursday morning.
Two of the best fast bowlers in the world, Bumrah and Cummins met for a picture with the Border-Gavaskar trophy, and they will decide how the cricket match unfolds over the coming days.
Traditionally, batters have held the position of captain. They can focus on tactics and team management because of their workloads, and it’s probably a little bit easier to divide out the task. The only thing on your mind while you’re at the crease is scoring runs.
You’re preparing your spell as a bowler—according to R Ashwin, he sequences 25 balls at a time—and you’re paying attention to millions of details, like as line, length, velocity, and variety. It might be exhausting to keep your eyes on the broad picture.
However, Bumrah contends that the large picture is only the next logical stage in the entire bowling process and that it has a really amazing benefit.
“I can manage myself the best when I am the captain,” he said on the eve of the first Test in Perth, “Because I know when I am fresh, I know when I have to push myself and I know when I have to take extra responsibility. Obviously yes, there are different challenges but there are advantages as well I look at the advantages, that I understand bowling. You understand where the wicket is changing, what changes you have to make. What field sets are good at this moment.
“Obviously, bowlers do a lot more research and data-driven as well than batters because that is how the game is headed. So I look at the positives more than the negatives. Obviously there will be challenges and you want to be tested and you want to have challenges.”
Compared to his opposite number, Cummins is a little further along in his multiple responsibilities. Although he didn’t perform much at the local level before being promoted to captain, his Australian teams have had some success. Most notably last year when they won the World Test Championship, kept the Ashes, and won the ODI World Cup. He took some time to get into this rhythm.
“I’d say, yeah, maybe, you know, maybe a summer or so,” Cummins said. “So maybe a year, maybe, you know, 10 Test matches or so. I think until you’re fully comfortable [with the dual role].
“The question is always just are you bowling too much or not enough? That’s always the question, which, yeah, again, gut feel. Speak to some other people out there, kind of come up with a decision.”
Though he is eager to make a name for himself. Bumrah will have the same kind of backing because he spent a lot of time with Rohit Sharma from his IPL debut in 2013 and made his Test debut under Virat Kohli in 2018.
“My way is, you have to find your own way, you can’t blindly copy anyone. Obviously both of them are very successful and have gotten a lot of results. But my way, I have always never followed a copybook plan in terms of my bowling as well. If you can see that I have never followed a module, I go with my instincts. That’s how I have always played my cricket and I have a lot of faith in my instincts and gut.
“So that is what I go with and tactically as a bowler, you always make a lot of plans. You are well aware of what to do, what adjustments you have to make during the game of cricket. So yes, I look at it this way and I try to cover all bases as much as I can.”