Follow UsIndia’s hopes of staging a comeback in the series in the second Test at Edgbaston have taken a huge hit as their ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the contest due to workload management.
Team India confirmed before the five-match series that Bumrah will only play three Tests, but it was expected that the 31-year-old would play the second Test, considering there was an eight-day gap between the first and the second game.
However, Indian Express have reported that Bumrah, who sent down nearly 44 overs at Headingley, will miss the second game and will likely only return for the third Test at Lord’s, which starts on July 10.
Should Bumrah miss the Edgbaston clash, it will mean India’s attack will be led by Mohammed Siraj, with one of Akash Deep or Arshdeep Singh taking the place of the 31-year-old talisman. It will also mean Prasidh Krishna, who was expensive in Leeds, will certainly retain his spot in the XI. What will have to be seen is if Shardul Thakur will retain his spot, or if he will be replaced in the XI by wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Prior to the series, India would have hoped to win all games that Bumrah played, and they were certainly in pole position to go 1-0 up in Leeds. They were 430/3 in the first innings and 333/4 in the second innings, but inexplicably ended up getting beaten comprehensively by the hosts, who chased down 371 with five wickets in hand.
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer could make his Test comeback should England decide to take a punt on him. Earlier this week, Archer played his first first-class game in four years, for Sussex, and got a solid workload under his belt.