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

Jasprit Bumrah led India to a comprehensive victory in the first Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Perth in the absence of Rohit Sharma. The star Indian batter returned to the side for the second Test in Adelaide but the Asian giants suffered a 10-wicket loss to Australia. The five-match series is intriguingly poised at 1-1 as the two teams assemble in Brisbane for the highly-anticipated third Test, starting on Saturday, December 14.

Former Australian cricketer Simon Katich opined that Bumrah rotated the bowlers in a better way compared to Rohit. The star Indian seamer received a lot of praise for the way he led the side. Meanwhile, Rohit has garnered criticism after leading India to four consecutive defeats in the longest format of the game.

"When you compare the two results, obviously, in Perth, Rohit Sharma missed out. And I thought Bumrah's captaincy, and particularly, the use of his bowlers in the length that they bowled, was far superior to what we saw in Adelaide. In Perth late on Day 1 when Australia were 7/67, India attacked the stumps and bowled much fuller and straighter lengths," Katich said on the 'Around the Wicket' podcast.

Further speaking ahead, Katich stated that Rohit needs to be a bit more proactive with his speedsters and give them valuable feedback from the slip cordon.

“Whereas, when you look at the pitch map for Adelaide, on the night of Day 1, they were a lot shorter and wider, and around the 7-8 meter mark. So they missed a trick. Rohit Sharma was at first slip; he saw it all unfold. He needs to be a bit more proactive with his quicks when that's happening. Because Australia got out of jail in that session only being one down and as a result, went on to win the Test,” he added.

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Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshit Rana featured in the first two Tests, with Nitish Reddy playing the role of a supporting seamer. Siraj and Rana bowled well in Perth but looked off-colour in Adelaide. The latter conceded 86 runs in 16 overs in Adelaide and went wicketless. There have been calls from some experts and fans to replace him with Akash Deep in the third Test. It will be interesting to see how the tourists line up in the River City.