&w=3840&q=100)
'Doesn't make sense': Sanjay Manjrekar questions Jasprit Bumrah's rotation plan, urges India to play him
Jasprit Bumrah is set to play no more than three Tests in the tour of England due to his strict workload management in the aftermath of a recent back injury. AP
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has said that Jasprit Bumrah should definitely play the second Test against England at Edgbaston. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said that India don't have a choice and that Bumrah's inclusion is crucial after what happened in the first match at Headingley.
Manjrekar calls for Bumrah's inclusion in 2nd Test
India lost the match by 5 wickets despite scoring fice centuries. Indian bowlers failed to defend a 371-run target in the final innings as England batters chased down with ease. India performed poorly on the field apart from struggling in the bowling department. India are 1-0 down in the series and are under pressure to win the second one.
'I mean there's no doubt in anyone's mind and I don't think India has a choice. He's got to play. He didn't bowl as much as one would have thought in the second innings. Plus, he didn't take to the field towards the end as well. Long enough gap and if he doesn't play now and you have seen how the bowling attack looks, even with Bumrah in the second innings in the last test. So Bumrah's got to play. And I know, he's not going to play the full series but play this one and we'll see what happens in the next because it just doesn't make sense for him to take a break at this juncture in the series,' Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Also Read: Team India hotel reportedly cordoned off after suspicious package found near Centenary Square in Birmingham
Manjrekar said that India don't have a choice now and can drop Bumrah later in the series to manage his workload. The former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Bumrah must play the second Test and see what happens in the future, considering India's position in the series at the moment. He added that decisions on Bumrah's availability should be taken one Test at a time.
'I believe 1,3 and 5 and 2,4 and 6 is a good concept as I have said before, for parking. Not for playing a cricketer and a player like Bumrah. So I find this almost nonsensical, you know this talk about he'll play 1,3 and 5. You just have to be realistic in sports and life as well. You can't pre-empt anything and India did well when Bumrah played the first Test. And whatever the talk is, I don't see him resting in the second Test and India also know that he's got to play in the second Test. And I always believe that instead of making long term plans, there's always gonna be clarity, absolute clarity at the end of every Test match. Whether Bumrah should play the next or rest the next,' he added.
Also Read: 'Play negative, defensive cricket': Ashwin's bold advice for Shubman Gill to target England's bazball
India are scheduled to play the second Test against England starting 2 July. Bumrah's inclusion is still not officially confirmed, though he has been declared fit. In the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, India skipper Shubman Gill said Bumrah is available for selection but a call on his inclusion will be made after looking at the pitch.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: Baffling! Ex-Australia all-rounder calls out India's gamble of going with 5 specialist batters
India's Yashasvi Jaiswal, right, celebrates after scoring fifty runs on day one of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell) Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody has slammed India's team selection for the second Test against England. India revealed its lineup after England won the toss and surprised many by resting its best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, and not picking wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who was missed in the series-opening loss in Leeds last week. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Sai Sudharsan, who made his Test debut in Leeds, and Shardul Thakur were dropped, while Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar were picked in an attempt to balance batting depth with a side capable of taking 20 wickets. India became the first side to lose a Test after hitting five centuries. Bumrah was replaced by Akash Deep. 'India's selection for this Test is baffling,' Moody wrote on X. 'No Bumrah is one thing, but to only have five specialist batsmen is a gamble. 'The fixation on all-rounders who are there to offer depth with bat and ball has never worked. Specialists are always going to offer more over a Test.' Former head coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri didn't mince his words while expressing his discontent with India's decision to rest the world number one speedster Jasprit Bumrah. 'You have the best fast bowler in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days' rest. It's something very hard to believe, and I can't agree with it,' Shastri said on Sky Sports. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Late selection meeting between Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill and Ajit Agarkar near pitch? At the stroke of lunch, India lost Karun Nair (31) and KL Rahul (2), while Yashasvi Jaiswal continued to dazzle, swashbuckling his way to an unbeaten 62 (69) to propel the touring party to 98/2. Shastri reflected on India's exploits in the first session and delivered unstinting praise for Jaiswal. 'I think they will be pretty happy but disappointed with the timing of Nair's dismissal, shortly before lunch. That's when you need to be concentrating hard—but there was very little Nair could do as the ball bounced from a length,' Shastri said. 'Jaiswal batted beautifully—the mix of caution and aggression. He played to his off-side strengths and put anything loose away,' he added. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
News18
29 minutes ago
- News18
Yashasvi Jaiswal Engages In War Of Words With Ben Stokes
The incident took place during the first session of the first day's play of the ongoing 2nd India-England Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Yashasvi Jaiswal is playing as an opener for India in the second Test against England, which is taking place at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The left-handed batter from Mumbai was India's best batter in the first session. He scored 62 runs from 69 balls with the help of 11 fours and added 80 runs for the second wicket with Karun Nair (31 runs). During his partnership with Nair in the first session of the first day's play at Edgbaston, Jaiswal was seen getting engaged in a war of words with England Test captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes. In a video getting viral on the internet, Stokes can be seen saying something to Jaiswal after he took a single off his bowling, and the Indian batter gave him an apt response, which was caught in the stump mic. Here's a look: Some heated JAISBALL 🆚 BAZBALL on display! 👀 #ENGvIND 👉 2nd Test, Day 1 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar ➡ — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 2, 2025 Jaiswal, who scored a century (101 runs from 109 balls) for India in the first innings of the first Test played at Headingley in Leeds from June 20 to 24, would like to convert his good start into a big score on Wednesday and help India post a big total in the first innings. If Jaiswal, who has crossed the 50-run mark in each of his first seven Tests against England, manages to score at least 97 runs in the first innings, then he will break Sunil Gavaskar's 49-year-old record and become the fastest Indian batter to score 2000 runs in Test cricket. Gavaskar, who made his Test debut for India against the West Indies in March 1971, crossed the 2000-run mark in Test cricket during his 23rd Test, which was played against the West Indies team in Port of Spain in April 1976. Jaiswal, on the other hand, is playing his 21st Test match for India at Edgbaston. The overall record of being the fastest batter in the world to score 2000 runs in Test cricket is in the name of legendary Australian batter and former captain Donald Bradman. Bradman completed 2000 runs in Test cricket in just his 15th match for the Baggy Greens. First Published: July 02, 2025, 18:38 IST
NDTV
32 minutes ago
- NDTV
Baffled Sunil Gavaskar Blasts India XI vs England: "Kuldeep Yadav Wasn't Picked, Top-Order Is Not Getting..."
Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian cricket team captain, was unhappy with the side's combination for the second Test against England that started in Birmingham on Wednesday. India made three changes to the side that played the first Test including batting allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, spin allrounder Washington Sundar and pacer Akash Deep. However, specialist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was not picked. Gavaskar felt that the Birmingham pitch could have aided Kuldeep's skills. "I'm a little baffled that Kuldeep wasn't picked, because on a pitch like this, where everybody says there's a little more turn," said on Sony Sports (via Sportskeeda) "If your top-order batters are not giving you the runs you expect, then Washington at seven or Nitish Reddy at eight won't necessarily fix that, because those weren't the batters who failed you in the first Test. You scored 830 runs. You didn't score 380 in two innings — it was 830-plus. That's a lot of runs. "So, where you needed strengthening was in the wicket-taking department, not so much in the batting." Former India head coach Ravi Shastri expressed disbelief at India's decision to rest a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah from the second Test against England, asserting that the pace spearhead should not have been given the option to sit out of a crucial game. India, enduring a rough patch in Test cricket since October last year, have managed just one win in their last nine matches, marking their worst run in over a decade. Shubman Gill and his men lost the opening Test against England by five wickets in Leeds. "If you look at the run, India has had, this becomes a very, very important test match. You've lost three against New Zealand, you've lost three against Australia," Shastri told 'Sky Sports'. "You've lost the first Test match here and you want to get back to winning ways. You have the best fast bowler in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days of rest, it's something very hard to believe," he said. Bumrah had claimed his 14th five-wicket haul in the first innings at Leeds. After the toss on Wednesday, Gill told former England batter Michael Atherton that Bumrah was rested to manage his workload. "Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord's, we think there'll be more in that pitch so we'll use him there,' Gill said.
