Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan have suggested that England go slow on Jofra Archer and exhibit caution since he is making a return to red-ball cricket after more than four years.
Team India would have wished to take a similar approach on Jasprit Bumrah, but the loss at Headingley has forced the team management to take a closer look at
their most valuable player. The fast bowler is slated to play only three Test matches in the series as part of his workload management.
In ideal circumstances, Bumrah would have played at Lord’s and the final Test at The Oval while giving the second and fourth matches a miss so that he could be at his peak in terms of fitness and
form. But the lack of incisiveness in the attack could bring about a change in the think-tank’s strategy.
The second Test at Edgbaston begins on Wednesday and India could have to rework their tactics to meet the demands. Bumrah bowled with full intensity and also batted at nets on Saturday which could provide fresh hope to their plans.
England will aim to knock India down with Archer’s express pace. If they succumb to the pressure and lose the second Test, it could signal the end of the road for Shubman Gill’s team.
But Bumrah could be keen on playing at Lord’s to terrorise the batters with his skill and craft. The slope at the Home of Cricket will also work in his favour since seamers get lateral movement there even on flat surfaces.
“This ground is tailor-made for my style of bowling. It’s got the slope going left to right and I bowled from the Pavilion End, and I think that I can hit the wicket just
outside the off-stump,” Glenn McGrath had once said about Lord’s.
Whether India can afford to go without Bumrah at Edgbaston, a venue where they have lost seven of their eight Tests, will be crucial.
“After such a good individual performance by Bumrah, and with India down 0-1, I wouldn’t rest him. I would ask him to play the second Test, help India level the series, and then take a break. There’s a good gap between the third and fourth Test where he can rest,” said Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
Former head coach Ravi Shastri has a different theory. “Bumrah said he’ll play three Test matches. Now, which of the three he’ll play, that’s, you know, another question to be asked. I think if he takes a break, it’ll be the next one, because he’ll definitely want to play at Lord’s, right?
“And there’s a break, and then you go into Lord’s, then there’s a break, and then there’s a choice between Manchester and the same. It could be 2-0 down. So that is the problem. I think he has got to play,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.
To put it bluntly, the other pacers haven’t shown the mastery to find the slightly fuller length needed to attain success in English conditions. Prasidh Krishna failed to exert control on the flow of runs.
If they can’t pick 20 wickets with Bumrah, can they afford it without their wrecker-in-chief? The team management is sure to explore the possibility of handing Arshdeep Singh his debut to utilise the left-armer’s angle and ability to swing.
The possibility of trying out Kuldeep Yadav as an attacking spinner is also being explored.
For Bumrah, “nothing is bigger than Indian cricket” and he could once again shun his workload talk and make himself available at Edgbaston. His presence is sure to impact the continuity and rhythm in the group.