India Is In For The Big Challenge Without Jasprit Bumrah In Second England Test

India will be competing in the second Test match against England without their star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and this latest development has been a huge setback for the team. BCCI sources confirmed that Bumrah will be rested for the next match under workload management. The second Test is to commence on July 2 in Birmingham and India will now be forced to prepare without their most potent bowler of the first Test which they already lost.

Bumrah was the star of the first match of the series conducted in Leeds. He bowled 43.4 overs overall across both innings and took five wickets while keeping a reasonable economy rate. His 5 for 140 obviously displayed that he was the sole bowler who put the English batsmen under any pressure. Compared to the other Indian pacers, he had a difficult time on the track. Prasidh Krishna leaked runs and his two innings figures were not impressive at all. He conceded 128 runs for 3 wickets in the first innings and then 2 wickets for 92 runs in the second. Mohammed Siraj also struggled as he took 2 wickets for 122 runs in the first innings and none in the second.

The combined tally of the other pace bowlers such as Siraj Prasidh and Shardul Thakur totaled 9 wickets for an enormous 482 runs from 92 overs. This emphasized the glaring difference in quality and impact when Bumrah was not on the field. His presence provided India with command and a real wicket-taking alternative which they desperately needed from the remainder of the attack.

Indian team management had already indicated prior to the start of the series that Bumrah would not feature in all five Test matches. Rather he would be available for just three. With the second match being missed by him the strategy is for Bumrah to come back for the third Test to be held at Lord's from July 10. This break in between the matches allows him to rest and be ready for the remaining matches in the series.

When it comes to his replacement in the playing eleven some names have been put forward. Arshdeep Singh is also one of the favorites and all indications are that he may be given a chance to replace Bumrah. Arshdeep is a left arm fast bowler who has played both ODIs and T20Is but has not yet played a Test match. He is India's highest wicket taker in T20 Internationals with 99 wickets in 63 matches. This is evidence of his potential but how effectively he transfers to the longer format is yet to be seen. Akash Deep is another pace bowler who is in the team but Arshdeep's variation and experience of limited overs cricket could prove to be his advantage.

The selectors are also looking at medium pace allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. He can offer both bowling and some solidity in the batting lineup. There is also talk of dropping Shardul Thakur from the team to include Reddy. Shardul did not do much in the first Test and introducing an allrounder who can bat better could give the team a solid lower order.

Resting Bumrah has evoked divided responses from past cricketers. Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach, spoke about this move with apprehension. He said that rested Bumrah at this juncture can prove to be a backfire and in case India loses the second Test they would be 2-0 down and it would become extremely difficult to make a comeback. He emphasized the need to have Bumrah in the squad particularly when the bowling department has been underperforming. In a conversation with Sky Sports he made it very clear that such a gamble may prove expensive for India.

Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian batting great, also had his say on this issue. He had previously proposed that India should think about playing Bumrah in all five games considering how much he is to the team's bowling lineup. But head coach Gautam Gambhir had shot down this proposal. Gambhir said that it is more critical to manage Bumrah's workload at this point due to the volume of cricket ahead in the immediate future. He went on to say that the team is very much aware of what Bumrah has to offer and his contribution is not undervalued. But the strategy to utilize him in just three Tests was finalized even before the tour started.

Commenting to the media in the aftermath of the first Test Gambhir mentioned that while everyone is keen that Bumrah participate in as many matches as possible his fitness and availability in the long run were of more concern. They would keep watching how his body adapts and act accordingly. His non participation in the second Test is hence not an eleventh hour decision but one which was already planned keeping the larger interest in view.

With India already 1-0 down in the five match series the team is now under pressure to come back and equal the series in Birmingham. With their key strike bowler missing the task becomes even more difficult. The stand-in bowler whether it is Arshdeep Singh or another player will have huge shoes to fill. India's chances in the second Test will depend heavily on how the rest of the bowling unit performs without Bumrah. It is also important for the batting lineup to step up and support the bowlers by putting runs on the board. While the team prepares for the next match everyone will be watching how they manage to do without their pace spearhead and if someone else would step up to the challenge.