Bumrah will play three of the five Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Tests, as decided earlier.
There are question marks over Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s participation for the second Test against England, with several reports claiming that he’s likely to be rested by the team management to manage his workload.
Bumrah bowled 43.4 overs across the two innings in Leeds. While the No. 1 ranked ICC Test bowler claimed a five-wicket haul in the first innings, he went wicketless in the second essay as English batters played him with caution.
On the eve of the second Test, former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said that India have to line up with the ace pacer at Edgbaston because leaving him out at this critical juncture makes little to no sense.
Bumrah will feature in three of the five Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Tests, as it was revealed earlier. The visitors are trailing 1-0 in the marquee series, having lost the first game at Headingley by five wickets.
“I mean there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind and I don’t think India has a choice. He’s got to play. He didn’t bowl as much as one would have thought in the second innings. Plus, he didn’t take to the field towards the end as well. Long enough gap and if he doesn’t play now and you have seen how the bowling attack looks, even with Bumrah in the second innings in the last test. So Bumrah’s got to play. And I know, he’s not going to play the full series but play this one and we’ll see what happens in the next because it just doesn’t make sense for him to take a break at this juncture in the series,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
“I believe 1,3 and 5 and 2,4 and 6 is a good concept as I have said before, for parking. Not for playing a cricketer and a player like Bumrah. So I find this almost nonsensical, you know this talk about he’ll play 1,3 and 5. You just have to be realistic in sports and life as well. You can’t pre-empt anything and India did well when Bumrah played the first Test. And whatever the talk is, I don’t see him resting in the second Test and India also know that he’s got to play in the second Test. And I always believe that instead of making long term plans, there’s always gonna be clarity, absolute clarity at the end of every Test match. Whether Bumrah should play the next or rest the next,” he added.
Ever since Bumrah sustained a back spasm in the Sydney Test against Australia, the team management has been extra careful about managing his workload.
As a result of that injury, the right-arm quick missed the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the initial few matches of the IPL 2025 season for Mumbai Indians.
Ahead of the England series, Bumrah revealed that he himself requested the BCCI not to consider him for Test captaincy after Rohit Sharma's retirement, as he would not be able to play all five Tests against England due to workload management.