"Not make him bowl more than 12-13 overs a day": Ganguly on utilizing Bumrah on England tour
New Delhi [India], June 14 (ANI): Former India skipper and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Sourav Ganguly, shared his thoughts on how to use right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah in the five-match Test series against the Three Lions.
A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace.
Speaking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz about how to use Bumrah in the England Test series, Sourav Ganguly said, 'You've got to look out for him and not make him bowl more than 12-13 overs a day. Use him as a wicket-taker, and that's the key. That's how Gill should use him. I believe four fast bowlers are important. Here, others will have to be the warhorses like Siraj, Arshdeep. Not sure about a Nitish or a Shardul Thakur. Maybe they can get some runs with the bat, but I think India need to back the seven batters and have specialist bowlers, because we need 20 wickets to win Test matches.'
Bumrah's utilisation will remain limited throughout the five Tests in England. During the announcement of India's squad for the upcoming Test tour of England, chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed Bumrah was advised not to contest in consecutive Tests as part of his workload management. The precaution around Bumrah's usage stems from a stress reaction in the back during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January.
He missed India's victory campaign in the Champions Trophy and returned to action for the Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). Before leaving for England, head coach Gautam Gambhir revealed that they have yet to take a call on which Tests India will field Bumrah in the playing XI.
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)
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