India fast bowler's injury in nets leaves Jasprit Bumrah-Mohammed Siraj workload in limbo: He might need stitches...

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

India incurred a second injury blow on Thursday during the tour of England as they arrived in Beckenham, a town in Greater London, in preparation for the fourth match of the series. In the third Test match at Lord's, which ended on Monday with India losing by 22 runs, vice-captain Rishabh Pant had injured his fingers while fielding and skipped keeping duties for the rest of the match. While India have yet to give a concrete update on his availability for the next Test match, which will be played in Manchester, the touring camp incurred another blow that hampered their pace-bowling plans. Mohammed Siraj with teammates Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah during the fourth day of the third Test match between India and England(PTI)
On Thursday, Arshdeep Singh, who has yet to make his debut in Test cricket, was spotted with a heavily strapped hand during the net session in Beckenham. Speaking to the media, Ryan ten Doeschate, India's assistant coach, revealed that he got hit by a ball during the training session and was immediately taken to the doctor.
"He took a ball while he was bowling there. So he hit a ball, and he tried to stop it and it's just a cut. So we have to see how bad the cut is. Obviously, the medical team have taken him off to see a doctor and obviously, if he needs stitches or does he not, that will be important to our planning for the next few days," he said.
Ten Doeschate's last remark hinted that it affected India's planning for the Manchester Test match amid the debate around Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj's workload during the tour.
In addition to the chatter around Bumrah's workload and whether he should play in the next game against England, experts have also raised concerns about Siraj's workload. The latter has bowled 109 overs in the series thus far, across six innings, the most by an Indian bowler on the tour.
Ten Doeschate parised Siraj's commitment, calling him the "lion-hearted" core of India's bowling attack.He stressed the importance of managing Siraj's workload to keep him in peak condition. His words further hinted that while Arshdeep might have been in consideration for the Manchester Test, his injury has left the Siraj-Bumrah situation in limbo.
"First thing I'll say is it hasn't felt like a long tour. It's been exciting from day one. Like you get up every morning and you can't wait for what the next day brings. And obviously, these guys are working so hard, especially the guys who are new to the squad.
So it's been a very refreshing tour in that sense. Let's first start with Siraj before we talk about Bumrah. I think we sort of take for granted our lucky way to have someone like that. I know he always, he doesn't always have the returns that you expect from a fast bowler, but in terms of heart, he's like a lion and what he brings to this bowling attack, whenever he does have the ball in hand, you always feel like something's going to happen. He's not going to shy away from the workload, so it makes it even more important for us to manage his workload and make sure that he's at least fit to give his best. And again, we'll take a call on the combination we play, particularly given the Arshdeep situation as well. We'll make that call closer to Manchester," he said.