Australian captain Pat Cummins has supported the idea of more fast bowlers taking the captaincy reins of their respective teams. Cummins took over Australia’s Test captaincy from Tim Paine and since then he has led from the front.

On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah will lead for the second time in Test matches in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who will miss the opening Test after becoming a father for the second time. 

Meanwhile, it has been commonly observed that mostly captaincy onus is given to the batters. Bowlers like Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Bob Willis, Shaun Pollock, and Courtney Walsh have led their respective teams in the past.

“It should happen more (pacers leading teams),” Cummins said during the pre-match press conference in Perth ahead of the first Test.

On the other hand, after Cameron Green has been ruled out with an injury, Cummins confirmed that Mitchell Marsh is fit to bowl as the fourth seamer for the team.

“He’ll definitely bowl in this Test. He’s an all rounder. With four pacers, we didn’t our all rounders to bowl a lot of overs. He has been bowling well at the nets,” Cummins spoke of Marsh.

Meanwhile, Nathan McSweeney will open the innings with Usman Khawaja and Cummins backed the youngster to play his natural game against India.

“He should play his natural game. He shouldn’t try to imitate David Warner. That’s not his game. As long as he makes the bowlers bowl again and again, that’s his game,” Cummins said of McSweeney..

During the course of the opening Test, the IPL 2025 mega auction will also take place in Jeddah. Cummins said it won’t be a source of distraction for the players and they will definitely focus on the job at hand.

“For the players, don’t think it’ll be a distraction. Most of them have been in auction before so it’s about going about the business as usual,” Cummins said.

The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.