Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is all set to lead India for the fourth time in his career, and second time in Test cricket when the team takes on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Test series opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday. Regular captain Rohit Sharma will miss the match as the 37-year-old had his second child last Friday and hence is yet to reach the Australian shores for the Test series.

Bumrah will have a huge task at hand in leading the Indian team in Perth, given it will be their first match since the humiliating whitewash at home against New Zealand. The 30-year-old had missed the final match of that series, in Mumbai, as the management decided to rest him for the long Australia campaign ahead.

Ahead of the match, India's bowling coach Morne Morkel was all praise for Bumrah and his leadership skill. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the former South Africa pacer said: “Jassi is a guy who immediately put his hands up and wanted the leadership role. He has been very successful in the past, he knows what to expect, and he speaks well in the dressing room. He is a guy who will lead from the front with the ball in hand and younger guys will follow him.”

What happened the last time Jasprit Bumrah captained India in a Test match

The only other time Bumrah led India in a Test match was in 2022. Rohit, who only weeks before was confirmed as India's all-format skipper, taking over the reins from Virat Kohli, missed the match after testing positive for Covid-19.

It was a rescheduled fifth Test match of the 2021 Pataudi Trophy series. Kohli, who was then in charge of the Indian team, had led the visitors to a stunning 2-1 lead in England, before the final Test was pushed back following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. It was Bumrah's first match as skipper at any level of representative cricket and became the first fast bowler to captain India since Kapil Dev, whose last game in that role was in an ODI against England in Mumbai in November 1987.

Losing the toss in Birmingham, India were put to bat first. After a top-order collapse, inflicted by James Anderson, who later completed a five-wicket haul, centurions Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja helped the tourists to post a 416-run total. In response, Indian fast bowlers picked up all 10 wickets to fold England for 284 runs and gain a first-innings lead of 132.

Fifties from Pant and opener Cheteshwar Pujara helped India post a 378-run target, but England chased it down with ease, riding on unbeaten centuries from Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. India, who were on the verge of their first-ever Test series win in England, lost the match by seven wickets to draw the contest to 2-2.

Despite a loss, Bumrah had an eventful outing in Birmingham as a captain. While the opening day was more of a routine - lost the toss, followed by a top-order collapse, the fast bowler chipped in with a hand cameo with the bat. It happened in the 87th over when India were 377 for nine, but for Stuart Broad, it turned into an over from hell as Bumrah milked a world-record scripting 35 runs in six balls -- including a no-ball and a wide, sending the England bowler a sharp reminder to the 2007 Yuvraj Singh classic. Then, half an hour later, he cracked open the England batting line-up, picking all three top-order wickets.

An opportunity awaits Bumrah

The Perth Test will be significant not only for India but also for Bumrah, who will have the opportunity to prove his worth as the candidate who could successfully take over the reins in Test cricket from Rohit, who will turn 38 next April. Not to forget, Bumrah was dropped from Test vice-captaincy in the Bangladesh series in September, with rumours swirling that Shubman Gill would be looked at as Rohit's successor across formats.

If India incur a similar fate in Australia, as against New Zealand at home, the selectors might be forced to re-think their strategies in the longer format, and a good performance in the Perth Test might put Bumrah ahead in the captaincy list

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