Canberra : India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav lauded Jasprit Bumrah's vast experience of playing in Australia, highlighting the pacer's understanding of conditions and preparation ahead of India's upcoming series Down Under.
"I think the way he has played his cricket for the last so many years, he has kept himself right on the top, and he knows how to prepare for a good series," Suryakumar said. The Indian skipper emphasised Bumrah's familiarity with the Australian conditions.
"He knows how to come and play cricket here. He has been here; he has visited this country the most of all the guys. So all of them have spoken to him. He is very open and very helpful in that," he added. Bumrah's record in Australia speaks volumes about his success as a fast bowler. In six T20Is, he has scalped eight wickets, while in four ODIs, he has picked up six wickets. His biggest impact, however, has come in the longest format; in 12 Tests, Bumrah has claimed 64 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls.
Overall, the Indian pace spearhead has featured in 22 matches across formats in Australia, bagging a total of 78 wickets. Against the Aussies in T20Is, Bumrah has played 14 games, taking 17 wickets. Suryakumar believes Bumrah's return to Australian soil will be a major boost for the team.
The 31-year-old travelled with India for the white-ball tour of Australia and will solely feature in the five-match T20I series. He was excluded from the three ODIs, which stems from his workload management. When he last toured Australia for Tests, Bumrah notched 31 scalps to top the wicket-taking charts with a tally of 32 at 13.06.
"Yeah, definitely when he takes the ground, starts from tomorrow, it will be a good thing; it's good to have him in the squad when we play in Australia," he said. India's T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.