If India has adopted a siege mentality heading into its defence of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, it appears no-one told Jasprit Bumrah.
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On the eve of the series opener in Western Australia on Friday, the champion fast bowler beamed with pride as he chatted with Australian captain Pat Cummins in the centre of Perth Stadium before outlining his delight at the opportunity to lead his nation.
If the shrouds of secrecy surrounding India’s preparation have been as grey and dark as the clouds which hovered over Perth on Thursday morning, Bumrah’s sparkling smile and brighter eyes were indicative of a man eager to shine light on the shadows.
“There is no greater honour than this,” he said.
“As a child, I always wanted to play this format, and leading India in Test cricket, very few number of players have played Test cricket for India, and (the number of) captains are even less. So, yeah, I’m very privileged and very happy to be in this position.”
In the week following India’s arrival, the tourists trained behind closed doors at the WACA, with blackout covers put up to preclude prying eyes from capturing who was doing what in the nets. Ducks, drapes and an occasional angry exchange carried the day.
Reporters have spoken of security being asked to move them on from public areas surrounding the nets at the request of the touring side, with talks of “paranoia”.
Eyebrows were raised when fast bowling coach Morne Morkel was the latest of replacements for Ravi Ashwin, who was to be the first Indian player to speak at a press conference since their arrival in Perth, on Wednesday.
The closed-door mentality has been a discussion point, with Fox Cricket experts including Michael Vaughan and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting among those to query the wisdom of opting to shut the world out rather than embrace the local scene.
They have pointed to the willingness of former coach Ravi Shastri to accept the challenges associated with touring Australia and both roll with the punches while delivering deadlier blows in the middle as a key to India’s recent successes down under.
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But with the sun about to rise on the series, India’s approach on Thursday appeared far more relaxed. Certainly that was the case at training, with the Indians and Australians hosting non-compulsory sessions which were attended by only a handful of players each.
Scheduled to start their session at 2pm in Perth, a handful of Indians rolled into action about 30 minutes earlier, with more staff members than active cricketers present for the final preparatory session.
On completing their sessions, those who had batted were happy to pose for photographs with the local net bowlers and also some of the journalists covering the side on this tour.
As one Indian fan tirelessly waved his nation’s flag outside the stadium, that did not mean there were not some points of interest, though anyone hoping for a glimpse of superstar batter Virat Kohli would have been disappointed as he skipped the session.
In order to ready the batters for the challenge of facing Australia’s champion trio of fast bowlers led by Cummins, the Indian coaching hierarchy occasionally dropped a zinger of a throwdown in.
Those deliveries reared sharply off the surface and up into the ribcage of those facing in a foreshadow of what can be expected over the next five days in the west.
There is conjecture surrounding whether Ravindra Jadeja, who has enjoyed good success against Australia, will play in Perth, with reports from India stating Ashwin might be the preferred spinning option.
The accuracy of those reports will not become clear until Friday morning, though Bumrah confirmed India has settled on its side.
Jadeja certainly approached the session as though he had a point to prove. The 35-year-old was struck in the midriff midway through the session by one of the deliveries which reared sharply, and let out a cry of pain before sinking to his haunches for a period.
But the 77 Test representative soon regained his composure and then set about batting through the entirety of the session.
He was the last of the Indian players to leave the nets after engaging in a lengthy chat with coach Gautam Gambhir. But Jadeja was all smiles as he made his way towards the Indian locker room about 2.25pm.
Does that mean Jadeja is in after all? Earlier in the day, the Australians certainly prepared as though they would be facing his left-armed off-spinners in Perth, but time will tell.
Bumrah, meanwhile, is hopeful that he will have further opportunities to lead his side, even if he is only in the role at the moment because of Rohit Sharma’s temporary absence.
Having seen the success Cummins has enjoyed for Australia, he said there was no reason fast bowlers could not lead with distinction.
While the Australian skipper said it took him about a year — or about 10 Tests — to feel fully comfortable in the captaincy role, Bumrah said he is looking forward to the challenge. And he has promised to do it his way.
“You have to find your own way. You can’t blindly copy anyone,” he said.
“I’ve never followed a copy book plan in terms of my bowling. I’ve never followed a module. I go with my instincts and that’s how I’ve always played my cricket. I have a lot of faith in my instincts and gut, so that is what I go with.
“Tactically, as a bowler, you always make a lot of plans. You’re well aware of what to do, what adjustments you have to make during the game of cricket. So I look at it this way and I’ll try to cover all bases as much as I can.”
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