new delhi, june 26
Despite trailing 0-1 after losing the series opener in Headingley, India might head into the second Test against England at Edgbaston, starting July 2, without the services of premier quick Jasprit Bumrah, as he could most likely be rested to manage his workload.
The 31-year-old was originally slated to play only three of the five Tests in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship series as part of a carefully managed plan to protect his fitness, particularly considering his previous back issues, and considering the brief four-day break between the second and third Test, slated at Lord’s from July 10-14, it has been reliably learnt that that the star pacer could warm the bench for the second match.
“There is a possibility (of Bumrah being rested) since there is only a four-day gap between the second and third Tests. As such there will be hardly any recovery time for the Lord’s game, and as the head coach suggested that there is huge potential in the rest of the attack, we just have to be patient with them,” a source told The Statesman on condition of anonymity.
“It all boils down to how his (Bumrah) body responds, and we have learnt our lessons from the Border-Gavaskar series, so the team management is very careful dealing with his workload,” added the source.
Bumrah returned with overall match figures of 5/140 from 43.4 overs in the opening Test in Leeds even after going wicketless in the second innings. Towards the end of the first Test, there were clear signs of skipper Shubman Gill and the team management wanting to protect the right-arm quick as he wasn’t handed the second new ball with England still needing another 22 runs during their successful chase of 371.
The rest of the Indian pace attack struggled against England in the first Test, with Mohammed Siraj (across two innings 2/173), Prasidh Krishna (5/220) and Shardul Thakur grabbing two wickets after leaking 89 runs from the 16 overs he bowled in the match.
If the team management decides to rest Bumrah for the second match, it could open the doors for left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh’s much-awaited red-ball debut with Akash Deep the other available option in the Indian squad. While Arshdeep has not played any Test, he has plenty of ODI and T20I experience, and is India’s all-time highest wicket taker in T20Is, with 99 scalps in 63 games.
Thakur, meanwhile, could also make way for seam-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, thanks to his superior lower-order batting abilities.
Earlier, former India coach Ravi Shastri warned the side against resting Bumrah from the second Test. “If he (Bumrah) was looking at a rest, you may have to think twice. If you don’t have him and then go 2-0 down, it could be an uphill task,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.
Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar went one step further by suggesting that India should consider playing Bumrah in all five Tests. However, head coach Gambhir Gambhir quickly turned down the suggestions, and confirmed that the team management will stick to the plan, considering the workload management of Bumrah.
“I think for us, managing his workload is more important because there’s a lot of cricket going forward, and we know what he brings to the table as well. So, before he came to the tour, it was already decided that he was going to play three Test matches. But let’s see how his body turns out,” Gambhir told reporters in the post-match press conference after the first Test.
