'Aussies prefer to attack the leadership' - Ravi Shastri warns Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Perth Test

The much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy will commence from November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Both the teams are bracing to have an upper hand on each other. While India have to win the trophy by 4-0 to see themselves in the World Test Championship Finals, Australia will try to break the streak of not winning the series since 2016-17. To sum it up, stakes are high for both teams as they enter the Perth arena.

The fervour is catching fire off the field too as former India cricketer and coach, Ravi Shastri has pointed Australia’s hidden weapon. As Rohit Sharma has cited familial reasons to skip the first Test, Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the Indian team in the inaugural game. Shastri added that, the Aussies are known to attack the leadership and India’s prospects depend on how the captain handles the Australia’s blows.

“The Aussies prefer to attack the leadership. Whoever the captain is, they train their guns and their spotlights on the captain. If they can bring down the confidence of the captain, they feel that the confidence of the team comes down. The pressure will be on Bumrah—there's no question about that. Any captain coming here will feel the heat, and Bumrah will be the same. But he's a very mature cricketer. He's a very competitive cricketer. Deep down, let's not forget, he's the best fast bowler in the world at the moment. So, the Aussies know what they're up against,” said Shastri speaking on Star Sports’ Press Room.

Bumrah shouldn't over-try because of the captaincy pressure: Shastri 

Bumrah has captained the Indian team only once in Tests, back in 2022 when the game against England was rescheduled. He then toured Ireland after his injury comeback and led India to T20I series victory against Ireland. Shastri showed confidence in Bumrah maintaining his usual composure and will stick to his strengths.

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“They (Australians) might want to come after him, but they know he'll come after them as well. The important thing is, if he's calm and gets support from his other bowlers, I think he'll be fine. He'll be absolutely fine. But there's no question the pressure is on him. What I want to see from the outside is that he doesn't over-try because of the pressure of being captain and just sticks to his strengths and bowls as if he's an individual player playing in that team. It's easier said than done, but I think he's mature enough to do it. Yeah, that's something he said in the press conference too,” he added.