Former Indian pacer and current head coach of Gujarat Titans Ashish Nehra has all praise for the stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah. He led the team in the first Test and helped India to register a win of 295 runs against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, he led the team fantastically and was even awarded Player of the Match for his excellent performance.
With India’s first Test in Perth, on another side, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction was also going on in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. After India got whitewashed by New Zealand at home with that loss, Bumrah led the team with excellence in Australia. During the auction, Ashish Nehra, in sarcasm, said that an auction purse of INR 520 crore would also not be enough if Bumrah entered the auction.
“The way Bumrah led the team following the 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand on home soil is brilliant to witness. You can’t beat Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah). Agar jassi auction main hote to ky hota? 520 crore ka bhi purse kam pdhta. If Jasprit Bumrah was a part of the auction, then what would have happened? Even a purse of INR 520 crore wouldn’t have been enough."
“As a bowler, Jasprit Bumrah has done this numerous times. Rohit Sharma is not playing, and you’re captaining the team in the first match of the tour. Obviously, there has to be an extra amount of pressure. But the way Bumrah handled the pressure is extremely praiseworthy.”