Jasprit Bumrah used the bowlers far better than Rohit Sharma: Simon Katich

In the absence of Rohit Sharma, India won the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 in Perth thanks to a commanding performance from Jasprit Bumrah. The star Indian batsman made a comeback to the team for the second Test match in Adelaide, but the Asian powerhouses lost to Australia by 10 wickets. The highly awaited third Test between the two teams will begin on Saturday, December 14 in Brisbane, with the five-match series intriguingly tied at 1-1.

According to Simon Katich, a former Australian cricket player, Jasprit Bumrah rotated the bowlers more effectively than Rohit.

Many people praised the top Indian seamer for his leadership of the team. In the meantime, Rohit has come under fire after leading India to four straight losses in the game’s longest format.

“It is clear that Rohit Sharma lost out when comparing the two outcomes in Perth. In my opinion, Bumrah’s leadership, specifically the way he used his bowlers in their bowling length, was significantly better than what we witnessed in Adelaide. On the ‘Around the Wicket’ podcast, Katich stated that India attacked the stumps and bowled considerably fuller and straighter lengths in Perth late on Day 1 when Australia was 7/67.

Speaking about the future, Katich added that Rohit should provide his speedsters with insightful input from the slip cordon and be a little more proactive with them.

In contrast, Adelaide’s pitch map shows that they were much broader and shorter on the evening of Day 1—roughly 7-8 meters. Thus, a trick was lost on them. Rohit Sharma was the first to notice; he watched everything happen. He should take a little more initiative with his quicks when that occurs. He continued, “Because Australia won the Test after emerging from that session with just one loss.”

Nitish Reddy was a supporting seamer in the first two Test matches, which were played by Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshit Rana. While Siraj and Rana bowled well in Perth, they didn’t seem their best in Adelaide. The latter was wicketless in Adelaide after giving up 86 runs in 16 overs. In the third Test, numerous fans and analysts have called for Akash Deep to take his place. It will be interesting to observe how the River City’s tourists queue up.