India hold cards close to their chest as Jasprit Bumrah call to go down to the wire: ‘He’s technically available but...'

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah is available for selection for the upcoming second Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, but the team management is yet to take a final call on his participation. The 31-year-old speedster will be playing just three Tests in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Having bowled 43.4 overs in the series opener in Leeds, it remains to be seen whether the pacer plays the second Test. Without Bumrah, India run the risk of going 0-2 down as the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna underwhelmed in the first Test. Jasprit Bumrah is available for selection for the Edgbaston Test against England but the management is yet to take a final call. (HT_PRINT)

Bumrah returned with five wickets in the first innings of the Headingley Test. However, the maestro with the ball failed to take a single scalp in the second innings, and this was the main reason behind Ben Stokes and co chasing down 371 to gain a 1-0 lead.

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed reporters on Monday, and he confirmed Bumrah's availability for the Birmingham Test.

“He's available for the game, obviously. We know from the start he's only going to play three out of the five. He's obviously had eight days to recover from the last test. But given conditions, workload, and how we think we can best manage for the next four games, we haven't made a call on that,” said Ryan ten Doeschate.

“We're going to see what the other guys are with their workload as well. So technically, yes, he's available,” he added.

The India assistant coach further said that Bumrah is fully fit and there are no injury concerns, but it is just about managing his workload and thinking about the bigger picture.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir in firing line for handling of Jasprit Bumrah for England Tests

“With Bumrah, he is ready to play. It's how we manage these four tests. So if we feel like there's value in playing him in this Test, we'll make that call at the very last minute. But I'm talking about whether, how the pitch is going to play. Are we better off holding him back for Lord's and maybe Manchester or the Oval? So it's all those factors,” said Doeschate.

“But you've seen him train yesterday, he trained a little bit today. It's not like he's not fit to play. It's just trying to fit those puzzle pieces to get the most out of him, out of what we know we do have from him,” he added.

Ryan ten Doeschate did accept that there is a strong temptation to play Bumrah in Edgbaston, but he conceded that he needs to work out his fitness.

“It is tempting, but we also feel we can go 1-1 or keep the score at 1-0 without Jasprit. That's putting the eggs in the back end of the series. We're going to need him at some stage as well. You've got to decide when you're going to play your strongest suit,” he said.

“We feel that whatever we put out there, we can compete in this Test match. We came pretty close without Jasprit in the second half. He didn't get any wickets. But you can't win the Test series with just one bowler in any case. And the bowlers are very well aware of that, that they need to chip in with wickets. Sorry, I can't give you a more firm answer. But we'll work out in the next 24 hours how we're going to manage Jasprit,” he added.

The management has also confirmed that two spinners will play the second Test against England. Ravindra Jadeja played as the lone spinner in the series opener. After the loss in Headingley, calls grew for including Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI, but it remains to be seen who, between Kuldeep and Washington Sundar, gets the nod.

“There is a very strong chance of playing two spinners. It's just which two we play. All three spinners are bowling very nicely. Washi's batting very nicely. So it's just which combination do we go with? All-rounder spinner or the out-and-out spinner? And obviously, you have to play the bowling all-rounder again. So there are so many different variables,” said the assistant coach.

Nitish Kumar Reddy close to getting a game

Ryan ten Doeschate also confirmed Nitish Kumar Reddy is close to getting a game as he has been putting in the hard yards while training during the nets. The India assistant coach also spoke about the youngster performed really well in the series against Australia.

In the first Test, Shardul Thakur played as the bowling all-rounder. However, he wasn't trusted enough with the ball by Shubman Gill as he delivered just 16 overs, taking two wickets. With the bat, he recorded scores of 1 and 4.

“He's very close to getting a game. Obviously, he was fantastic in Australia. Coming into the team and playing the way he did. We just felt, on balance, for the last game, we wanted to go with the bowling all-rounder. We thought Shardul was slightly ahead on the bowling front. We're looking at ways of rejigging the puzzle,” said Doeschate.

“So we can get a batting all-rounder in. And obviously, Nitish is our premium batting all-rounder at the moment. So I would say it's a very good chance to play this Test,” he added.

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