Bumrah's Workload Under Scrutiny: Shastri Urges India to Reconsider Rest Amidst England Series

Shastri Urges India to Reconsider Bumrah's Rest Amidst England Test Series

Following India's setback at Headingley, former head coach Ravi Shastri is advocating for a reassessment of Jasprit Bumrah's workload management. This comes after India's five-wicket defeat, despite Bumrah's impressive performance where he secured five wickets. The current strategy, as outlined by head coach Gautam Gambhir, involves Bumrah participating in only three of the five Tests against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.

Jasprit Bumrah with his captain Shubman Gill (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

In the Headingley Test, Bumrah's figures stood at 5-140 across 43.4 overs, with all dismissals occurring in the first innings.

Shastri, speaking on Sky Sports, emphasized the potential repercussions of resting Bumrah: "If he was looking at a rest, you may have to think twice. If you don't have him and then go 2-0 down it could be an uphill task."

The performance of the other Indian seamers – Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna – further fuels the debate. Their combined figures of 9-482 in 92 overs underscore the reliance on Bumrah. The second Test at Edgbaston, commencing on July 2, will be a crucial battle.

Shastri acknowledged the difficulty of the loss: "This will be a tough pill for India to swallow. You don't get in positions like this very often and blow it from there. They had a chance to take England out of the contest and dictate terms." He stressed the importance of learning from the defeat and developing resilience within the team's lower order. "They have to learn and they need more bottle from the tail, for them to be stubborn and put a price tag on their wicket. There is a big role for the coaching staff to take the positives. As a captain, Gill has done more than can be asked of him. He got a hundred in his first Test in charge and the dropped catches (and collapses) are not in his control," he added.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain also weighed in, providing his insights on Shubman Gill's captaincy and the overall Indian team performance. "I saw someone finding his way. He didn't quite have that on-field aura of Rohit and (Virat Kohli). I thought he followed the ball a lot and was reactive rather than proactive. When Rohit and Kohli captained, you looked down and you immediately knew who was in charge but when I looked down in this game I saw two or three captains, captaincy by committee," Hussain observed.

Hussain highlighted India's vulnerabilities: "But India lost from two things Gill couldn't control - drops and collapses. The collapses concern me. In India they have had spin-bowling all-rounders that are magnificent - Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel - but in England they are still looking for a seam-bowling all-rounder who can bat. If they keep going 6-31 and 7-41 this could be a quick series," he concluded.