Ahead of the second Test between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, uncertainty is looming over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in a crucial match for the visitors after losing the series opener at Headingley in Leeds last week.
After India’s defeat in the Headingley Test, there was a growing chorus for Jasprit Bumrah to play all five Tests of the series. Even former India batting legend turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar urged the pace spearhead to play all five matches of the Test series, a request that was conveyed through his wife Sanjana Ganesan, who is a presenter for the official broadcaster of the series, Sony Sports.
Despite a growing chorus for Bumrah to feature in all five Tests, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir was firm on management’s stance on pacer featuring in three matches, highlighting workload concerns. Speaking at the press conference after the Headingley Test defeat, Gambhir did not disclose the remaining two matches Jasprit Bumrah will feature.
Jasprit Bumrah available for selectionDespite uncertainty over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the Edgbaston Test, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed that the pacer is available for selection for the second Test, adding that management was clear of Bumrah playing three matches of the ongoing Test series.
“He's available for the game, obviously. We know from the start he's only going to play three out of the five. He's obviously had eight days to recover from the last test.” Ryan ten Doeschate told the reporters at the press conference
“But given conditions, workload, and how we think we can best manage for the next four games, we haven't made a call on that,” he added.
The selectors and Team India management were careful about Jasprit Bumrah’s workload after he suffered a back injury during the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in January this year and was out of action for three months before making a comeback in the IPL 2025.
In the first innings of the series opener, Jasprit Bumrah picked five wickets and completed 150 wickets in SENA, becoming the first Asian bowler and the fourth after Shane Warne, Courtney Walsh, and Curtley Ambrose to achieve this feat. However, in the second innings, Bumrah surprisingly went wicketless as he conceded 57in his spell of 19 overs.
Injury concerns dismissedFurther speaking about Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the second Test, Ryan ten Doeschate has dismissed injury concerns for the pacer, adding that he is ready to play. However, the inclusion in the playing XI for the Edgbaston Test will be taken in the last minute.
“With Bumrah, he is ready to play. It's how we manage these four tests. So if we feel like there's value in playing him in this Test, we'll make that call at the very last minute.” Indian assistant coach.
“But I'm talking about whether, how the pitch is going to play. Are we better off holding him back for Lord's and maybe Manchester or the Oval? So it's all those factors,” he added.
Bumrah and Gambhir involved in an intense conversationTeam India had a practice session in Birmingham ahead of the Edgbaston Test, and Jasprit Bumrah was not part of the first half of the session, raising further speculation about his availability for the crucial second Test.
According to the reports, Bumrah and head coach Gautam Gambhir had an intense conversation on the sidelines of the team’s practice session. The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep were sweating it out in the nets, and Bumrah joined in the second half of the session. The reports suggested that it could be an indication that the pacer spearhead is likely to be out of the Edgbaston Test.
Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj are likely to retain their place in the playing XI despite their moderate performance in the first Test, but the toss-up will be between Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep for Bumrah’s replacement if the pacer is out of the second Test.
