Rahul Dravid On Jasprit Bumrah Leading India: Not easy for a fast bowler to captain

India head coach Rahul Dravid has said it is "not easy for a fast bowler to captain" before adding he wants stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah "more as a bowler" in the one-off Test against England.

India captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the rescheduled fifth Test, which is currently underway at Edgbaston, due to covid. The BCCI named pacer Bumrah as India's stand-in captain. Bumrah not only became India's 36th Test skipper but also the first fast bowler to lead India in Tests since Kapil Dev in 1987.

Before the Test began in Birmingham on Friday, Dravid heaped praise on Bumrah, saying he "understands the game very well" and he has the "respect of the team".

"I think he (Bumrah) is a very thoughtful individual, understands the game very well. Also, he commands the respect of the team, which is very important as a leader. Bowling changes, and field changes obviously will only get better with time. It's a new challenge. It's not easy for a fast bowler to captain, he's got to think about his own bowling too.

"Have had a few conversations with him, and told him that we need him more as a bowler. Captaincy is something that you'll get better at as you do it more," said Dravid while talking to the host broadcaster.

The former India captain also hailed Team India's bowling, saying they take "pride" in their fast bowling as they have tasted success across the globe.

"There are a lot of talks about England and their style of batting. I'm looking forward to it. The quality we have in our fast bowling is something that we take pride in. They have performed all over the world and I think it's going to be an interesting contest. It's about focusing on ourselves than on the opposition.

"Hitting the top of the off stump is still a very good ball and it's about hitting that spot consistently. If they (England) have the skill to attack our best deliveries, then good luck to them," added Dravid.

India currently lead the five-match series 2-1. A series win would mark Team India's first Test series victory in England since 2007, when coincidently Dravid was the captain.

ENG vs IND: Very happy with our preparations, says Jasprit Bumrah

England captain Ben Stokes won the toss on Friday and asked India to bat. While Mayank Agarwal, who was flown from India as cover, was not selected, Cheteswar Pujara opened with Shubman Gill, with Hanuma Vihari at No. 3.

"It's a good feeling (to be captain) and is a big privilege. It can't get better than this. Excited and looking forward to this. I'm very happy with the preparation. We wanted to spend a lot of time and get used to the English conditions, as we came back from T20s. Happy with the preparation, now it's for the mental side to take over. Four bowlers - myself, Siraj, Shardul and Shami along with Jaddu as the all-rounder," said Bumrah at the toss.

England vs India: Playing XI

India XI: Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah(c)

England XI: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Sam Billings(wk), Matty Potts, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach, James Anderson