Jasprit Bumrah ‘Available’ For 2nd India vs England Test, But Coach Adds A ‘Technical’ Disclaimer

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is “available” for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, but it is yet to be decided whether he would feature in the final XI, considering his limited utilisation for the five-match series. After the conclusion of the series opener, head coach Gautam Gambhir declared that the management would not budge on Bumrah’s three-match utilisation. There were recommendations from fans and former cricketers to use Bumrah in all five Tests, but Gambhir quickly turned down the suggestion, claiming they were more concerned about his workload.

India lined up with its pace spearhead, Bumrah, in the series opener at Headingley but still ended on the wrong side of the result. He dazzled in the first innings with figures of 5/83 but lost his magic and returned wicketless in the second.

With Bumrah’s threat vanished into thin air, England trounced India by gunning down a 371-run target, their second-highest successful chase in the format. With the crafty quick available for two Tests out of four, Doeschate affirmed that they have to evaluate which surface would be optimum to get the best out of the 31-year-old.

“With Bumrah, he is ready to play. So, like I said in the very first question, 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,” he said.

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