Jasprit Bumrah is likely to play just three Test matches in the ongoing series against England. Head coach Gautam Gambhir had already spoken about this in the pre-series press conference.
Bumrah played the first Test and made an impact on the game with a fifer, He went wicketless in the second innings as England chased 371 down on the final day of the Test match and won by five wickets.
There are reports that Jasprit Bumrah will not play the second Test at Edgbaston starting from July 2. In such a scenario, the team management looking to bring in some chances to maintain the balance of the side and especially the bowling attack. There are talks about Kuldeep Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy's inclusion in the XI.
Meanwhile, former South African skipper AB De Villiers spoke about Jasprit Bumrah's workload management and how the team management is looking to rest him for the series. He further said that Bumrah should play all five Test matches, especially against England.
“He is probably the top bowler in the world in all formats right now. So, it’s very difficult to decide a way to rest him, but in my opinion, Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game. And this Test series probably would’ve been the one, in my opinion, to get him ready for all five Test matches" said ABD.
He further shared an example of how the Protean team managed Dale Steyn in his prime for the national side when it came to playing Test matches.
"That’s what we used to do with Dale (Steyn). Rest him in lesser important T20 and ODI series and get him ready for the big Test series against Australia, England, and India away from home... New Zealand, to a certain extent, depending on the rankings at that time,” De Villiers said in a video on his YouTube channel.
AB De Villiers further hinted that there might be mismanagement or unclear decision-making within the Indian support staff when it comes to managing Bumrah's workload properly. India's bowling attack will look even thinner if Bumrah is rested especially after such a heavy defeat in the very first Test of a new WTC campaign.
“So, I don’t know if it was mismanagement or perhaps because he recently got back from injury, sort of saw the IPL as the warmup phase. Maybe, went to the surgeon, who let him know, ‘You can’t play the five Test matches.’ So, I mean you got to respect that, and at the end of the day, it’s up to Team India to sort of manage him well,” he added.
Also Read: IND vs ENG 2025: Jasprit Bumrah To Miss Second Test Against England - Reports
2nd Test Starts From July 2
The second Test match starts from July 2 with India pondering over making multiple changes in the XI. Jofra Archer, on the other hand, is back in the England squad for the second Test.
