India vs England: It is a big achievement, a big honour: Jasprit Bumrah after being appointed captain

Birmingham, June 30: On the eve of the rescheduled fifth Test against England, Jasprit Bumrah was named captain of the Indian team, with skipper Rohit Sharma yet to recover after testing positive for Covid-19.

The All India Selection Committee named Bumrah as the skipper, while Rishabh Pant is set to be his deputy. After being named the captain for the fifth Test, Bumrah said it was a 'big achievement' and 'big honour'. The fifth and final Test is set to get underway on Friday (July 1) in Edgbaston.

India vs England: Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in rescheduled fifth Test as Rohit Sharma ruled out

During the pre-match press conference, Bumrah said, "It is a big achievement, a big honour. Playing Test cricket was my dream and getting an opportunity like this is a huge achievement for me. I am very happy on being given this opportunity."

Bumrah went on to add that captaincy will not change anything for him. "You have to do your job to the best of your ability. This is what I am looking forward to doing. We have a very good team. We have a lot of experienced players. I have a lot of players who were there to help me out. I am looking forward to helping the team to the best of my abilities, understand where the game is heading and contribute to the best of my abilities," said the skipper.

Meanwhile, talking about the wicket, Bumrah said the wicket in Leicester, where the Indian team played the warm-up game, was very different from the wicket in Edgbaston. "The wicket in Leicester was different and this is a different wicket," said Bumrah.

Hosts England enter the match after a thrashing 3-0 Test series win over New Zealand and ODI win over Netherlands. Talking about England's stellar form, Bumrah said they would concentrate on their own job. "We do not want to think too much about the opposition. We know our strengths. If we do our job well, we believe we can win in any condition or place.

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"We want to give more attention to ourselves. We have our plans and we will focus on what we need to do. Joe Root is in an amazing form," added the pacer.

The match is a part of last year's five-match Test series. The final game was postponed due a covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. The Indian team is on the brink of clinching their first series win in England since 2007. India lead the series 2-1 and a draw would see them win the series.