Series on the line as India consider Bumrah gamble in do-or-die fourth Test against England

Jasprit Bumrah is a weapon India must use sparingly but with the five-test series against England on the line, the tourists are considering playing their pace spearhead in the fourth Test in Manchester next week.

The team management has decided that Bumrah, whose workload has been carefully managed since he returned from a back surgery earlier this year, will play three of the five Tests in England.

A victory in Manchester would give England an unassailable 3-1 lead. To prevent that, India are considering playing Bumrah, who skipped the second Test in Birmingham, in the next match rather than preserving him for the final Test at the Oval.

“We know we have got him for one of the last two Tests,” assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters after a training session on Thursday.

“It’s pretty obvious that the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him.”

“But again, we have 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.”

Arguably the best all-format bowler of his era, Bumrah registered five-wicket hauls in both the Tests he played on this tour of England, though India lost both in Leeds and Lord’s.

India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a finger injury at Lord’s, did not bat in Thursday’s practice. Ten Doeschate was confident Pant will reprise his usual roles in front of the stumps with the bat and behind them with the keeper’s gloves in Manchester.

“Look, I don’t think you’re going to keep Rishabh out of the Test no matter what,” former Dutch international ten Doeschate said.

“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.”

Former India head coach Anil Kumble weighed in on the importance of Bumrah’s availability for the rest of the Test series and suggested that India’s pace spearhead should feature in the remaining two Tests.

“I would certainly push for Bumrah to play the next game because that’s crucial. If he doesn’t play and India end up losing the Test, that’s it, the series would be done and dusted. Bumrah should feature in both the remaining Tests.

“Yes, he mentioned earlier that he would only play three matches, but there is a long break after this. He does not need to be part of the home series if he wants rest. But right now, Bumrah should be playing the next two,” said Kumble on JioHostar.

So far, Bumrah has picked up 12 wickets in just four innings, making him the second-highest wicket-taker in the series behind Mohammed Siraj.

During the practice session on Thursday, the Indian team had an injury scare as left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh suffered a cut on his bowling hand while trying to stop a ball and was seen with a bandage on.

India will now be aiming to bounce back in the fourth Test against England at Manchester, starting on July 23, before the fifth and final match of the series takes place at The Oval in London from July 31 to Aug. 4.

Meanwhile, head coach Gautam Gambhir joined other members of the team in praising veteran left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s incredible performance in the Lord’s Test.

Though Jadeja hit a valiant 61 not out off 181 balls on final day’s play, his fourth successive fifty in Tests, India lost at Lord’s by 22 runs and find themselves 2-1 behind in the five-match series against England.

“That was an incredible fight. The fight from Jaddu was absolutely brilliant,” said Gambhir in a video posted on bcci.tv. on Friday.

Jadeja had shown tremendous grit in keeping India in the hunt for chasing 190. “As a player in the team, Jaddu bhai is extraordinary in fielding, bowling, and batting. The improvement that has come in batting, he makes runs in every important situation for the team. It’s very difficult to find such a player for the team. We are lucky to have such a player in our team,” said fast bowler Siraj.

Agencies