India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is likely to return for the crucial fourth Test against England in Manchester, with assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate saying that ‘it is pretty obvious’ with the series being ‘on the line’, but a final call will be taken close to the must-win game, starting July 23.
Addressing the media after India’s training session in Beckenham, held in the aftermath of a morale-shaking defeat at Lord’s, Doeschate said that multiple factors will be considered before making the call on Bumrah’s return.
“We`ll make that call in Manchester. We know we`ve got him for one of the last two tests. I think it`s pretty obvious the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him,” said Doeschate.
“But again, we`ve got to look at all the factors. How many days of cricket are we going to get up there? What do we feel is our best chance of winning that game? And then how that fits in together with the Oval and looking at the last two games holistically as part of the series.”
India are scheduled to arrive in Manchester on July 19 and will evaluate Bumrah’s workload and recovery before naming the final XI.
England captain Ben Stokes took workload management out of the window at Lord’s, where he bowled extended spells of 9.2 and 10 overs with unrelenting intensity to lead England to a memorable win.
Doeschate, however, chose not to draw direct comparisons. “That was super impressive for Ben to come out on their last day and bowl the amount of overs he did with the intensity he did, and obviously bats and fields as well,” he said. “We`re not here to compare our bowlers to individuals from other teams. We have our own strengths. We know what particularly Jasprit does in spells, in shorter spells, which he prefers bowling in.”
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant did not participate in Thursday’s training session due to a finger injury sustained during the third Test. However, he travelled with the squad to Beckenham and is expected to recover in time for the Manchester fixture.
“He batted with quite a lot of pain in the third test and it`s only going to get easier and easier on his finger. Keeping is obviously the last part of the process to make sure that he can keep,” Doeschate said. “We don`t want to go through that again where we have to replace the keeper halfway through the innings. But he rested today. We`re just trying to give him the rest as long as possible and hopefully he`s good to go in Manchester in the first training session.”
