Pace bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is likely to miss the second Test of the current five-match series against England. As per a Thursday report, a BCCI source stated that the 31-year-old fast bowler will be absent from the second India-England Test in Birmingham due to workload management.
According to the report, Bumrah will not take the field in Birmingham but is expected to feature in the squad for the third Test against England, scheduled to occur at Lord’s in London from July 10 to 14. Notably, Bumrah bowled 24.4 overs during the first innings of the Leeds Test and 19 overs in the second innings.
Bumrah played all five Test matches for India in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy but sustained a back injury in Sydney during the fifth Test, leading to his absence from play for over three months.
Huge Blow to Team India
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar mentioned during the Sony Sports post-day show that India might want to think about having Bumrah play in all five Tests. However, India’s head coach Gambhir rejected the idea during the post-match conference on Tuesday (June 24), stating that they are primarily focused on managing his workload.
If Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t take the field at Edgbaston, it will be a major blow to the Indian team which is already struggling to find a proper bowling line-up and are 1-0 down in the series. India will have to swiftly devise a strategy, despite being aware for some time that Bumrah would not be available for all five games.
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Jasprit Bumrah turned out to be the sole bowling star for India and didn’t get any sort of support from other bowlers as Indian bowlers struggled to tackle the Bazz-ball approach of England batting.
While Bumrah took the first five-wicket haul of the series, other pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj proved quite costly and failed to get crucial wickets.
Krishna took 3 wickets for 128 runs in 20 overs and in the second innings, while he had figures of 2 wickets for 92 runs in 15 overs. On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj’s figures were 2 wickets for 122 runs in 27 overs during the first innings and 0 wickets for 51 runs in 14 overs in the second.
Who will replace Bumrah?
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh is expected to take Bumrah’s place in the playing XI for the Edgbaston Test.
Arshdeep, the recipient of the ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year award in 2024, has yet to compete in a red-ball match for India. He has, in fact, received his first Test call-up for the ongoing series.
Arshdeep brings experience in English conditions, having been a member of the T20I squad that toured England in 2022. Additionally, the seamer has represented Kent in the County Championship and has decent statistics there.
Bengal seamer Akash Deep is another specialist pacer who could be a part of the squad. Akash Deep’s reliable skills could provide India a prompt resolution for specific issues with the Dukes ball.
His skill in producing quick movement off length can leave the English top-order guessing, aided by his distinct wrist snap. If any seam movement will be present, Akash Deep can capitalize on it and utilize it to his benefit.
Although he is known for controlling his bowling, Akash Deep primarily relies on swing and seam, and if there is no movement available, he lacks alternative tools in his repertoire.
While medium pace allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy can also play, he is by far are unlikely to replace Bumrah.
Earlier, former India coach Ravi Shastri had warned the team regarding resting Bumrah for the second Test and stated India might need to reconsider giving Bumrah a break. “If you don’t have him and find yourselves 2-0 down, it might be a challenging task,” Shastri mentioned on Sky Sports.
