Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins scripted history© AFP
As India’s stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah and Australia’s captain Pat Cummins arrived at the center of the Optus stadium for the toss on Friday morning, cricket witnessed a never-seen-before incident. It was the first time in the history of India-Australia cricket that two teams were being led by fast bowlers as captains. While Cummins has been Australia’s captain since late 2021, Bumrah was made India’s skipper for the opening Test at Perth because of Rohit Sharma’s absence, having taken a paternity leave due to the birth of his second child.
India first took on Australia in a Test series back in 1947/48 when the players came Down Under. The series resulted in a 0-4 loss for the Indians. While Australia was led by the legendary Sir Donald Bradman back then, India’s captain was Lala Amarnath, an all-rounder.
It also has to be noted that Kapil Dev was the last Indian fast bowler to captain the team in a Test series Down Under. He led the team during the tour of 1985-86. When it comes to the Australian team, no fast bowler has captained the team against India in a Test match that took place in Australia. Tim Paine was Australia’s captain during India’s last two tours in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Seeing Bumrah and Cummins together at the time of toss, hence, was a unique sight for cricket viewers.
“We are going to bat first, looks like a good wicket. Very confident with our preparation. We played a Test match here in 2018 so we know what to expect. The wicket gets quicker. Nitish makes his debut. We have 4 quicks and Washi is the lone spinner,” Bumrah said at the time of toss on Day 1 of the Perth Test.
“We were 50-50, either way we are pretty happy. Feel well placed, pretty fresh. Any format we (India-Australia) play seems fiercely fought. Nathan McSweeney makes our debut at the top of the order,” Cummins said when asked of his preference.
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