New delhi, June 30 -- It's a catch-22 situation for Team India and Jasprit Bumrah as skipper Shubman Gill attempts to restore order in the second Test against England starting in Birmingham on Wednesday. India had lost the first Test to the hosts at Headingley by five wickets.
A lot of chatter is around Bumrah, India's durable and star speedster. However, in recent times, Bumrah has himself made it clear he will be practising workload management and then decide how much he should play. For those who have known 'Boom', he never had worried about his body. However, the breakdown during the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Series (BGT) in Sydney was scary. The ace pacer went for an MRI scan then but there was no clarity on the injury and how hard it was for him to come to terms with it.
It was only during an interview with SKY Cricket in England Bumrah had opened up in an interview on how he would, perhaps, play only three out of five Tests in England. For this very reason, Bumrah had informed the BCCI he was not going to take up the Test captaincy role after Rohit Sharma retired.
The Bumrah one saw in the first Test was the same, wily and cunning. Someone like former England captain, Nasser Hussain, went bonkers over how Bumrah is unplayable. Truth be told, if one rewinds to the first Test defeat in Leeds, Bumrah was not snatching the ball each time to have a go India needed a breakthrough. He has been the go-to bowler in Tests, but there is now a fear that he shouldn't push his body too hard. Bumrah was also not as effective in the second innings. He has been seen at nets ahead of the second Test but a big question mark hangs: Should he play in Birmingham or rest. Such things were never on Bumrah's mind before this in his career where he had to weigh options. It is clear he can bowl a 100 per cent but workload management has to be very conservative.
Sadly, even if Bumrah misses the second Test, there is a worry how the Indian bowling unit will function. It was a flop show by the other bowlers in Leeds, where the catching was also awful. Catches being put down by Yashasvi Jaiswal and seasoned Ravindra Jadeja had become a laughing stock. Bumrah had, of course, kept calm, even as he suffered when catches were dropped off his own bowling.
For those who saw the one-man demolition act by Bumrah, it was the batters who let India down. A series of retirements have taken place, R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit. Yes, the team is in transition, but minus Bumrah, the bowling attack will look toothless.
How will India cope with this challenge where the best bowler has to worry if he can shoulder the load or not. Bumrah's back has been 'repaired' after long rest. For those who think he can bowl long spells, no, that's ruled out. Someone like Sourav Ganguly had said that Bumrah should not be pressed into service for more than 12 overs a day.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.