As a young Indian team in Ireland builds up for the T20 World Cup 2024, stand-in T20I captain Jasprit Bumrah reflected on the job of a skipper to pick a Playing XI. India have fielded a second-string team and gave chances to many young players in a three-match T20I series against Ireland which India won with a game to go. The Men in Blue completed a series win with a victory in the second T20I by 33 runs on Sunday.
Bumrah was a happy man after the match as he registered a T20I series win in his first attempt as a captain. However, he claimed that it is tough to pick a playing XI as everyone in the team is eager to play in the limited opportunities. "I am feeling good. Today was a little drier. We thought it would get slower and hence batted first. It is very pleasing. It is tough to pick an XI. Great headache to have. Everyone is eager. Everyone is confident. All of us wanted to play for India. Eventually, everyone has to work their way up," Bumrah said after the win in Malahide.
The team is without the services of key players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Siraj in the series against Ireland. This opened the doors for the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh and Ravi Bishnoi among others.
Bumrah is happy to play without a 'baggage of expectation'
The Indian pace merchant is happy to play without the baggage of having expectations pinned on him. "If you play with baggage of expectation, you are under pressure. You have to keep those expectations aside. You are not doing yourself 100 per cent justice if you are playing with so many expectations," he added.
India registered a thumping victory over the hosts Ireland in Malahide on Sunday to seal the three-match series with a game in hand. Vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, wicket-keeper Sanju Samson and finisher Rinku Singh helped India get to 185 in the first innings. The bowlers then joined and despite a valiant effort from Andrew Balbirnie, India clinched the contest by 33 runs.
