ENG vs IND: Jasprit Bumrah unlikely for the Edgbaston Test, but not 'entirely ruled out'
Synopsis
Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the second Test against England at Edgbaston is uncertain due to workload management and past injuries. Though present at training, he skipped bowling and batting drills, raising doubts ahead of the July 2 clash.
Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's likelihood to play the second Test between India and England at Edgbaston, starting from July 2 onwards, is low, as per ESPNCricinfo.
The Indian team management has already confirmed that Bumrah, owing to workload management and history of injuries, will be playing only three Tests, though the matches that these are for have not been confirmed.
ESPNCricinfo has learned that Bumrah's chances of taking the field for the second Test are low. During the Leeds Test, Bumrah got a five-wicket haul in the first innings and went wicketless while defending 371 runs, delivering a total of almost 44 overs during the match.
Jasprit Bumrah did not join India's training session
As per ESPNCricinfo, India returned to the nets on Friday after travelling, with a marathon training session of around five hours. Bumrah was present at the ground, but he did not bowl or bat. The nets session was a closed door affair and the information about him possibly doing some fitness drills or bowling alone was not possible to tell.
The session was visible from a street nearby the venue. Mohammed Siraj had a hit with the bat before he joined Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna inside the venue.
As per ESPNCricinfo, the chances remain low that Bumrah takes the field on July 2. The pre-decided combination to play Bumrah was apparently for the first and third Tests, with a choice to be made for the fourth or fifth Test on the basis of the direction of the series. There are big gaps between the first and second Tests and the third and fourth Tests, of seven to eight days each.
Bumrah not ruled out of the Edgbaston Test
He has not been ruled out entirely for Edgbaston, and discussions around the combination are yet to start. If Bumrah's body is in good condition, he could play the Test. There is an optional training on Saturday, followed by a session on Monday.
Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm pacer, and Akash Deep bowled lengthy spells in the nets, with Arshdeep bowling a lot with an old ball. He went around the wicket to right-handers. This could have been something India decided to do after looking at the conditions in Birmingham. They could be expecting the reverse swing to be present as a factor.
The mood within the camp is not to excessively ponder over the Headingley loss, despite many dominant performances in the match. The message so far is to not change playing style too much, but repeat the process to get into strong positions again and react in much better manner.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav. (ANI)