To play or not to play Jasprit Bumrah – that is the question. More than Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fielding woes, India’s bigger concern ahead of the second Test in Birmingham is whether to rest their premier fast bowler. Former head coach Ravi Shastri had already warned the team management about workload management, but now England have added fuel to the dilemma just a day before the Edgbaston Test.
England pacer Mark Wood, who has been ruled out of the series, and former captain Mike Atherton discussed Bumrah’s situation on Monday, dissecting the pros and cons of including him in the XI for the second Test.
Earlier, selectors had confirmed that the injury-prone Bumrah would feature in only three of the five Tests on the England tour to manage his workload. Head coach Gautam Gambhir reiterated the plan after the Leeds Test. However, given India’s lacklustre bowling display at Headingley — where Bumrah’s five-wicket haul was the only bright spot — the debate around his inclusion has gained momentum.
The sight had the legendary Sunil Gavaskar sending a special request to Bumrah, while Shastri warned that India could not afford to trail 0-2 in Edgbaston, making Bumrah a necessity in the XI for the second Test. Wood agreed with the former India all-rounder, but Atherton pointed out that the third Test in Lord’s will begin just three days after the conclusion of the second game.
“They cannot afford to go 2-0 down. So you want your best bowler,” Wood said on the Sky Sports podcast. “There’s no way he’s saying, ‘I’m not playing at Lord’s.’ I don’t think so. I think he’ll want to play both games. Even if, let’s just say, India win the next one, and it’s 1-1, I still think they’ll want him to make the difference, to get them ahead. I think every overseas bowler wants to get on that board, and he’ll be the same.”
Atherton added that while Manchester could be the venue where India can rest Bumrah, they have to have him in the XI for the second and third Test.
“They have got a decision to make over Bumrah, first of all, because every overseas player wants to play in a Lord’s Test. The Lord’s Test is three days after Edgbaston. In cricketing terms, he should certainly play at Edgbaston, and I’d think very carefully about Old Trafford, because that’s the kind of ground where pace and reverse swing are really important. But as you say, every cricketer wants to play at Lord’s and get on that honours board,” he said.
The former England batter concluded by backing Kuldeep Yadav in the XI, saying India could have won the series opener had he featured in the match.
“I do think they should play Kuldeep Yadav. I think had they had Kuldeep in their team, they would have won that game,” he added.
