Follow UsEngland will have a massive advantage if India decide to rest their ace paceman Jasprit Bumrah for the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, starting on July 2 (Wednesday).
Before the England tour, Bumrah had made it clear to the Indian team management that he would feature in only three out of five Tests to manage his workload.
Bumrah claimed five wickets in the first innings of the first Test but went wicketless in the second innings, which helped England chase down 371 with five wickets in hand.
England’s star batter Harry Brook was dismissed for a golden duck in the second innings but made an impactful 99 in the first innings.
It would have been a pair for Brook as he was caught off Bumrah’s bowling when he was yet to open his account in the first innings, but it turned out to be a no-ball.
Talking about facing Bumrah and the possibility of him not playing the second Test, Brook told the Times of India: “He’s obviously a great bowler — releases it from a slightly awkward angle and has an amazing amount of skill as well.
“You just try and respect his good balls and attack his bad balls, really, like any other bowler. I think we had a good win with him playing last week.
“We’re going to try and look to put all the bowlers under pressure; it doesn’t matter who’s bowling at us. But yes, if the team’s missing the No. 1 Test bowler in the world, it could hopefully make a difference.”
Brook also spoke about India’s new Test skipper Shubman Gill. “He’s obviously a very good player, and hopefully I can play enough cricket for England to be playing against him plenty of times.
“Watching him last week, he’s very good, plays the ball late and plays fast bowling very well. So hopefully we don’t see too much of that for the rest of this series. But yes, I’m sure, hopefully we’ll play a lot of cricket against each other.”