Bumrah was one of the three changes India made for the Edgbaston Test.
India’s decision to leave Jasprit Bumrah out of the playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston has triggered a debate.
Despite trailing 0-1 in the five-match series and a week off from action, Bumrah was rested as part of the workload management. However, the move has put the team management under scanner.
The plan was always going to make Bumrah play three Tests and head coach Gautam Gambhir had said that it won't be altered despite the loss in the series opener at Headingley.
Former England cricketer David Lloyd has also joined the bandwagon of critics, questioning the Indian think tank for resting Bumrah in the second Test, which is important in the context of the series.
Lloyd argued the tourists were concerned about their lead pacer’s workload even though there was a seven-day gap between the first and second Tests.
“Let’s talk about Jasprit Bumrah. If you are the best bowler in the world, your team is trailing and you’ve just had a week off, you should be fit, firing and ready to go again," Lloyd wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“The plot thickens. Has Jasprit said ‘I’ll miss this Test and play at Lord’s’ or have the Indian medics said he’s not ready to play? There’s an air of mystery. I’m old school. If you’re a cricketer, then play cricket," he added.
The visitors made three changes to their playing XI for the second Test, which kicked off on Wednesday (July 2). Apart from Bumrah, and Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur were replaced by Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, respectively.
As a result, three all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy – are featuring in the lineup along with three specialist bowlers – Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
Lloyd felt India weakened their bowling attack by prioritizing batting depth. “India made three changes and what I’m hearing is that their camp would be happy to get to Lord’s, just one-nil down. They lengthened the tail after the collapses at Headingley and my interpretation is that they’ve loaded this team with batters and would be happy with a draw. If you get into that mindset before you’ve even started, you’re shooting yourself in the foot," he wrote.