With India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the second India vs England Test still unclear, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar said that India have to line up with the seamer at Edgbaston because leaving him out at this critical juncture makes little to no sense.
“I mean there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind and I don’t think India has a choice. He’s got to play. He didn’t bowl as much as one would have thought in the second innings. Plus, he didn’t take to the field towards the end as well. Long enough gap and if he doesn’t play now and you have seen how the bowling attack looks, even with Bumrah in the second innings in the last test. So Bumrah’s got to play. And I know, he’s not going to play the full series but play this one and we’ll see what happens in the next because it just doesn’t make sense for him to take a break at this juncture in the series,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
“I believe 1,3 and 5 and 2,4 and 6 is a good concept as I have said before, for parking. Not for playing a cricketer and a player like Bumrah. So I find this almost nonsensical, you know this talk about he’ll play 1,3 and 5. You just have to be realistic in sports and life as well. You can’t pre-empt anything and India did well when Bumrah played the first Test. And whatever the talk is, I don’t see him resting in the second Test and India also know that he’s got to play in the second Test. And I always believe that instead of making long term plans, there’s always gonna be clarity, absolute clarity at the end of every Test match. Whether Bumrah should play the next or rest the next,” he added.
Bumrah was by far the best Indian bowler on show at Leeds, where the Shubman Gill-led side lost from a position of strength. The likes of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur were not consistent enough with their lengths to test the England batters.
India have not decided which three Tests Bumrah will be a part of over the course of the English summer. He has played one, leaving him to feature in two out of the next four games.
