Team India and Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah will become the 11th cricketer to lead the nation in a T20I match when he captains the side in the first T20I of the three-match series against Ireland on Friday. Bumrah has been given the captaincy reigns with both Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya rested for the T20I series at the Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin ahead of the Asia Cup 2023.


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Bumrah will be making a comeback into the Indian side after a gap of 11 months, having played his last international match in September 2022. Speaking about Bumrah’s return to action and the decision to appoint him captain, JioCinema expert and former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Robin Uthappa, said: “I thinks it’s interesting. He has got leadership skills and he could go on to become our Test captain, too, because he is a pretty shrewd strategist as well. But, he has got the opportunity to do that here apart from making a comeback. It will be interesting to see how he’ll go about it.”



Another JioCinema expert and former India all-rounder Nikhil Chopra said: “Yes, absolutely, the way he (Bumrah) is practicing and preparing after the injury is commendable. He can make excellent use of his skills in bowling in Ireland and conditions prevalent there because the ball will behave differently. It will swing in the air, and he has always had good pace at his disposal.”


With the Asia Cup 2023 and the Cricket World Cup 2023 lined up in the coming weeks, Uthappa hopes Bumrah will stay injury-free and send down the to-crushing yorkers he’s famed for. “I expect Bumrah to go injury-free this series and stay completely healthy. I think that’s what every Indian supporter would want from him. He should just feel like himself again and that would augur really well for the Indian team.”


The likes of Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube will get an opportunity to make an impression and Uthappa feels they will grab their chances. “I think every game that they play or every opportunity that comes the way for Jitesh, Rinku and Shivam, is going to be extremely crucial. The fact that Rinku and Shivam are left-handers is an added advantage because that’s the need of the hour for any team. Jitesh Sharma has a long list of players ahead of him, so if he has to stand out, he needs to have an exceptional Ireland series,” Uthappa said.


Chopra, meanwhile, said: “When you play for your country, there’s no bigger opportunity than that. We all know what Rinku Singh did in the IPL. Shivam Dube has the ability to hit long sixes. When you achieve the same in international cricket, your confidence grows. What you were doing in the IPL for 50,000-60,000 people, you are doing the same in international cricket. This is when you get a chance and your bench strength is being prepared.”