‘It’s Tough, but…’ – Shubman Gill on Jasprit Bumrah’s Availability for 2nd IND vs ENG Test

Sports News: The new Indian skipper, Shubman Gill, has revealed whether Jasprit Bumrah will play the second test. After losing the first test convincingly at Headingley, India would look to bounce back at Edgbaston. Ahead of the second test, Captain Gill has made a statement regarding Bumrah’s availability for the second game. The right-arm, fast bowler for India had earlier said that he will play only three matches on this English tour.

Gill's take on Bumrah's availability

Gill attended a press conference ahead of the second game at Birmingham. When asked about Bumrah’s availability, he said, “Jasprit Bumrah is definitely available. We just need to see how we manage his workload in the upcoming Test matches. We know that he’s going to play only three matches. It is difficult but we have picked the best players from India. It is not an impossible task(if Bumrah is unavailable), other bowlers are good – we have a good pool,”  We will take a final look at the wicket today and then think about our final combination we want to go with tomorrow." 

Bumrah’s Workload

The ace fast bowler for India has been a match winner since his debut. Although, due to his back injury, Bumrah is available for only three test matches on this tour. Before the start of the series, he told the reporters about his fitness and workload management, in which he revealed his availability throughout the tour. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir also said that managing Bumrah’s workload is the priority. 

If not Bumrah, then who?

India has a decent bench strength of fast bowling. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh is yet to make his Test debut. Alongside him, there is Akash Deep, who has an experience of seven test matches. India played with three fast bowlers in the first test, including Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. It will be interesting to see which fast bowler India chooses to replace Bumrah.