The first Test between England and India begins from Aug 4 in Trent Bridge.
Former Indian seamer Ashish Nehra believes that India will go with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Ishant Sharma if the tourists decide to play only three seamers in the opening Test of the five-match Test series against England, starting on August 4 at Trent Bridge.
The Indian cricket team has seven fast bowlers in their squad – Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and standby Prasidh Krishna in England for the upcoming Test series beginning on Wednesday.
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Nehra told Hindustan Times: “You have to start with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma. Of course, these three will play. If you want a fourth fast bowler then the captain, coach, and team management can take a call based on who has been bowling well. You want to go with Umesh Yadav or you want to play Siraj. But if you are playing three seamers then you will start with Bumrah, Shami, and Ishant unless there is an injury to any of them,”
However, the former seamer said Siraj is a very skillful bowler but he will have to wait for his opportunity. The pacer had managed 13 wickets in his first three Tests in Australia earlier this year.
He added, “Yes, Siraj is waiting in the wings but he has to wait for his turn. Everybody knows that Siraj is a great prospect, a very skillful bowler.”
Meanwhile, Bumrah isn’t looking at his best lately since he has managed only 7 wickets at an average of 50.71 in his last four Tests but Nehra insisted that there isn’t any threat to the all-format specialist’s place in the Indian side while backing the bowler to play in the first Test against England.
The commentator further explained, “Here you are talking about a guy like Bumrah who has done really well in the last five-six years since his arrival. Don’t think there is any threat to Bumrah’s place on the side. It’s not like he hasn’t been bowling well for the last 10-12 Tests.
Of course, nobody is permanent. If the captain and coach think that you are not bowling well then, they can make a call but that I have not seen with Bumrah, Shami, or Ishant. Sometimes you don’t pick as many wickets and when you come back from an injury, it gets tough for you, and it’s not easy. But whenever I’ve seen Bumrah bowl, I haven’t felt he is not bowling well or he is not looking in a good rhythm.”
Nehra is also confident that Bumrah will bring his A-game in the upcoming Test series against England.
He added, “You don’t want to be too harsh on someone like Bumrah that he starts thinking that his place is not secured. Yes, you want to push them but I’m a firm believer that he is your main guy. When you talk about winning big tournaments or series, you want your core group to do well and I’m hoping Bumrah brings his A-game in England.”
The former seamer also spoke on the talks of India’s seam attack being one-dimensional with no out and out-swing bowler present in the current side to make the most of the English conditions.
He signed off by saying, “I don’t agree that you need only swing bowlers in England. Look at somebody like Stuart Broad. Even Jofra Archer is not a swing bowler. But they are England’s main weapons, so a lot depends on how you bowl and it’s not like Bumrah or Shami can’t swing the ball or they need one particular surface to achieve results.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)