Steyn blasts Gautam Gambhir for spreading ‘madness’ by leaving out Jasprit Bumrah: ‘It’s like Portugal resting Ronaldo'

Former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn, on Wednesday, lashed out at the Indian team management, comprising captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir, for not playing Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test match against England in Birmingham. India replaced Bumrah with Akash Deep in the line-up, which was among the three changes they made for the match. India's Jasprit Bumrah, left, carries refreshments for captain Shubman Gill during a break on day one of the second cricket test match between England and India at Edgbaston(AP)

Steyn could not wrap his head around the fact that India chose to rest Bumrah for the Edgbaston Test, saying it was similar to Portugal benching Cristiano Ronaldo.

“So Portugal have the best striker in the world in Ronaldo and they chose not to play him. That's madness. That’s like India having Bumrah and choosing not to play, umm, him… wait, oh, no, what! shit I’m confused,” Steyn tweeted.

Why was Jasprit Bumrah not picked for 2nd Test?

If one thing was clear about the Indian team touring England was that Bumrah would play just three Test matches in order to manage his workload. The decision as taken after a strict advice from the BCCI medical team, as revealed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar during squad announcement in May.

With India down 0-1 in the Test series following the loss in Leeds, experts urged the management to not rest Bumrah for the second game in Birmingham, especially after the 31-year-old picked up a five-wicket in the first innings in the opening Test match amid a no-show from his fellow quicks. But Gambhir and Gill paid no heed to the call as they announced that Bumrah would warm the bench during the Edgbaston Test.

“Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord's, we think there'll be more in that pitch so we'll use him there,” Gill explained at the toss.

India ended Day 1 in the second Test at 310 for five after the captain scored a second consecutive ton in the series.

Click here to read article