Dhoni once touted Bumrah as a potential captain: Matthew Hayden

Former Australian batter Matthew Hayden said that MS Dhoni once identified Jasprit Bumrah’s abilities as a “potential captain”. Bumrah is all set to lead India in the Perth Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting November 22. Bumrah will take charge in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who will miss the series opener after recently becoming a father for the second time.
Bumrah captained India back in 2022 in the rescheduled Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. But Bumrah’s men lost the Test by seven wickets. Hayden lauded the speedster for having a matured head on his shoulders and backed him to perform well as a captain in Perth.
“From what I understand, not knowing Bumrah on the field as such, not even having played against him, but coming from a great friend and mentor of mine in MS Dhoni, he’s got leadership qualities as well. In fact, he was touted by MS many years ago as a potential captain,” Hayden, a Channel 7 Cricket Commentator, responded to India Today’s query in a virtual media interaction.
“Off the field, I have spent a large amount of time with Jasprit, he’s intelligent, well-organised and constructive in his comments on the game, which for me reveals he’s got good leadership instincts, and they will come to the fore captaining a very excited and extremely optimistic team coming here, and I’m sure he will be up for it,” Hayden said.
Hayden said that despite not playing a lot like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Bumrah has stepped up and has played like a “stalwart” of Indian cricket. He also spoke about how well Bumrah bowled in the Perth Test back in 2018 which India lost by 146 runs.
“When you think about Jasprit Bumrah, you think he’s probably played 80 to 100 Tests. It just seems like he’s been a stalwart of Indian cricket across all three formats. The reality is he has played 40 Tests and that’s a lot of cricket, but it’s not Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and other names that have played a lot more amongst the stalwarts of Indian cricket,” Hayden said.
“Bumrah will lead with the ball just like Pat Cummins. He took five wickets in Perth in a losing cause. He is going to lead from the front, the better he bowls, the better his team gets into a position of dominance, and he can expose many players because of his immense talent,” Hayden added.
Bumrah has an impressive record on Australian soil, having taken 32 wickets from seven matches at an economy rate of 2.47 with a six-wicket haul at the MCG against Australia to show for his efforts. India are looking to win their third Test series in a row on Australian soil.