While the Indian team management remained tight-lipped on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play the second Test vs England at Edgbaston, former England captain Michael Atherton believes the Indian pace spearhead would himself be eager to play a role in his availability for the rest of the series as well. India have maintained since before the start of the series that Bumrah will only be playing in three of the five Tests against England and Atherton wants him to be playing at Edgbaston and in the fourth Test at Old Trafford. However, he also acknowledged that Bumrah might be eager to get on the honours board at Lord’s, which is where the third Test will happen.
“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,” Atherton said on Sky Sports podcast.
In his 46-match Test career, Bumrah has only played at Lords’ only once. The Indian pacer picked up three wickets in the second Test at Lords’ in the five-match Test series in 2021. While Bumrah has 14 Test five-wicket hauls, the 31-year-old has never taken one at Lord’s. England pacer Mark Wood, who is currently recovering from an injury and out of the England squad, also believes India cannot afford to lose the second Test at Edgbaston after losing the series opener in Leeds.
“They cannot afford to go 2-0 down. So you want your best bowler. 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,” Wood said on the Sky Sports podcast.
Earlier, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri had talked about the need for Bumrah to take a break from the second Test at Edgbaston. “Bumrah said he’ll play three Test matches. Now, which of the three he’ll play, that’s, you know, another question to be asked. I think if he takes a break, it’ll be the next one, because he’ll definitely want to play at Lord’s, right? And there’s a break, and then you go into Lord’s, then there’s a break, and then there’s a choice between Manchester and the same. It could be 2-0 down. So that is the problem. I think he has got to play,” Shastri had told Sky Sports last week.
