PTI
Ever since the chairman of selectors BCCI Ajit Agarkar said all the five matches of the England vs India Test series would be played on turning tracks, every detail has been of about what games the ace fast bowler would play. The post‑match press conference at Leeds was notable for the fast bowler’s availability and the routine followed ahead of the second game here on Monday.
The anxiety amongst the Indian media, even England also, at Edgbaston grew because the 31‑year‑old did not bowl at all in the opening half of the training session in which he was open to the media for the first time. Bumrah, following the basic warm‑up and fielding drills, spent a long time just chatting with head coach Gautam Gambhir while his colleagues Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep bowled.
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, addressing the media, came prepared on the volley of questions on Bumrah but did not confirm whether he will play or not. “Yeah, he is available for the game obviously. We know from the start he is only going to play three out of the five. He has obviously had eight days to recover from the last Test,” said Doeschate.
“Given conditions and workload and how we think we can best manage the next four games, we haven’t made a call on that. As you know the guys have been away for a while. So technically, yes, he’s available. It’s how we manage his core testing. If we feel he is there, we give him that playing this Test. We’ll make that call at the very last minute. I’m talking about how the pitch is going to play, are we going to hold him back? So it’s all about fitness.”
With five frontline bowlers already chosen for the series, including debutant Avesh Khan alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav, ten Doeschate said there is a “strong chance” that India will play with two spinners for the first Test in Leeds. England captain Ben Stokes is likely to exploit the turn and bounce off the Warwickshire turf, and Deeschate believes off‑spinner Washington Sundar or left‑arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav could be the second spinner alongside Ravichandran Ashwin.
“I think with the wickets here and the way the ball is behaving, there’s a very good chance we might go in with five bowlers and two spinners,” ten Doeschate told DH. “That gives us flexibility in the middle overs and the chance to slow things down, build pressure. We’ll make the final call tomorrow morning after net sessions.”
India’s first match of the series starts on Friday, June 20, at Leeds. England have won nine of their last 10 Tests at home, to India’s two, and the hosts will be confident of exploiting favourable conditions. Meanwhile, India will have to balance the workload of their bowling attack and hope their multi‑faceted spinners can provide a breakthrough.