Former England spinner Monty Panesar has advised that India might want to give Jasprit Bumrah a rest for the Edgbaston Test, suggesting this move could actually strengthen their chances against England.
In the series opener at Headingley, Bumrah led India’s pace attack, but the team still ended up losing. He was excellent in the first innings with 5 for 83, but went wicketless in the second, where England chased down 371 runs—their second-biggest successful chase in Test cricket.
With India 1-0 behind in the series, there’s been speculation about resting Bumrah for the Birmingham match starting July 2. Panesar believes that benching the 31-year-old might let India pick a bowling lineup better suited to the conditions at Edgbaston.
“Resting him could help India field a bowling unit more effective on the Edgbaston pitch. Making this tactical call might really lift their performance there,” Panesar told ANI.
After the defeat, head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed they plan to play Bumrah in only three of the five Tests, some supporters and former players wanted him to play every match, Gambhir said they were managing his workload.
In a recent training session, left-arm quicks Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep bowled extended spells in the nets. Arshdeep in particular worked on bowling with an older ball from around the wicket to right-handers, hinting India may target reverse swing in Birmingham’s conditions.
India squad for the England series:
Shubman Gill (captain),Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, .
England squad for the 2nd Test:
Ben Stokes (captain),, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley,.
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