Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

ENG Vs IND: Team India Resting Bumrah For The Edgbaston Test Draws Portugal-Ronaldo Analogy


(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

Team India's lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the ongoing second Test of the five-match series against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday, July 2.

India headed into the Edgbaston Test after trailing 0-1 in the series following the defeat in the first Test at Headingley in Leeds. Despite the visitors needing a strong comeback, Team India management decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah as part of his workload management. In the Headingley Test, Bumrah scalped five wickets in the first innings, but surprisingly went wicketless in the second innings, which cost India a victory as England chased down a 371-run target with ease.

Before the England Test series, the selectors and management decided that Jasprit Bumrah would play only three matches to avoid overburdening him and ensure he remains fresh and injury-free throughout the gruelling UK tour.

Though there was a chorus for Jasprit Bumrah to feature in all five Tests, including a request by Sunil Gavaskar, head coach Gautam Gambhir was firm on the management's stance to play the lead pacer in the limited matches of the England series.

Cristiano Ronaldo-Portugal analogy

Team India management's decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah sparked debate, with experts, including former head coach Ravi Shastri, expressing their surprise over the move. However, the former South African pacer Dale Steyn had a different perspective on the decision.

Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Dale Steyn expressed his confusion over India's decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah, drawing an analogy of Portugal benching their 'best striker', Cristiano Ronaldo, in a crucial match.

“So Portugal have the best striker in the world in Ronaldo and they chose not to play him. That's madness.” Steyn wrote.

“That's like India having Bumrah and choosing not to play, umm, him... wait, oh, no, what! shit I'm confused,” he added.

So Portugal have the best striker in the world in Ronaldo and they chose not to play him madness's like India having Bumrah and choosing not to play, umm, him... wait, oh, no, what! shit I'm confused 😵‍💫

- Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) July 2, 2025

 

In the Headingley Test, the over-reliance on Jasprit Bumrah was exposed after he went wicketless while conceding 57 in his spell of 19 overs in the second innings, highlighting the need for better support from the rest of the bowling unit and justifying the call to manage his workload more carefully.

During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Jasprit Bumrah played all five matches of the Test series and was a consistent performer with the ball. However, in the first innings of the Sydney Test, Bumrah suffered a back injury, which kept him out of action for three months before making a comeback in IPL 2025. Also, Bumrah was reluctant to take up Test captaincy as he would not play all five Tests of the England Test series.

Can Team India pull off an Edgbaston Test victory without Jasprit Bumrah?

With Jasprit Bumrah being rested for a crucial second Test, Team India management made strategic changes to their playing XI to balance the team. Akash Deep was brought in place of Bumrah despite speculations of left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh getting the nod, while Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna retained their places.

Nitish Kumar Reddy was brought in by dropping Sai Sudharsan, who made his Test debut at Headingley, while Shardul Thakur was replaced with left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar. Team India decided to have two spin bowling all-rounders in Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja in a bid to strengthen their batting depth and add variety to the bowling attack.

Entering Day 2 with Sky-high confidence!#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND twitter/IeNoNaF5jj

- BCCI (@BCCI) July 3, 2025

 

With massive changes in the playing XI from the Headingley Test defeat, Team India aimed to strike a balance between attack and depth, hoping fresh inclusions would spark a turnaround in the Edgbaston Test in Headingley.

The Edgbaston is one of the two venues in England where India have never won a Test match, losing seven and drawing once in eight outings from 1967 to 2022, deciding to rest Bumrah and overhaul the playing XI is the more daring quest to avoid a 0-2 deficit.

Meanwhile, Team India posted a total of 310/5 after 85 overs, with skipper Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja batting on 114 and 41, respectively, putting the visitors in a strong position with an unbeaten 99-run partnership for the sixth wicket at the close of play on Day 1.

MENAFN04072025007385015968ID1109761064



Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

Search