Shastri cautions India about resting Bumrah in second Test against England
Leeds [UK], June 25 (ANI): Former cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri believes India should think twice before resting world number one Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test against England after succumbing to a five-wicket defeat at Headingley.
On the final day of the pulsating fixture on Tuesday, England gunned down a 371-run target to pull off their second-highest successful chase in Test cricket. Bumrah served as the driving force in India's seemingly toothless attack, with sizzling figures of 5/83 in the first innings.
During India's 371-run defence, Bumrah lost his magic and went wicketless. After the conclusion of the contest, head coach Gautam Gambhir declared that the management won't budge from Bumrah's three-match utilisation.
Shastri warned the Indian camp to think twice before resting Bumrah in the second Test at Birmingham, which begins on July 2.
'If he (Bumrah) was looking at a rest, you may have to think twice. If you don't have him and then go 2-0 down, it could be an uphill task,' Shastri said on Sky Sports.
Compared to Bumrah's figures of 5/140 from 43.4 overs at an economy rate of 3.20, the rest struggled to match his impact. Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna combined to return with figures of 9/482 from 92 overs, a massive chasm.
During the announcement of India's squad for the Test tour of England, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had 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 his back during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January.
Former India batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar had suggested that India should consider playing Bumrah in all five Tests. However, Gambhir quickly turned down the suggestion, claiming they were more concerned about his workload.
'I think for us, managing his workload is more important because there's a lot of cricket going forward, and we know what he brings to the table as well. So, before he came to the tour, it was already decided that he was going to play three Test matches. But let's see how his body turns out,' Gambhir told reporters in the post-match press conference. (ANI)
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