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India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate has finally addressed the question of whether their pace maestro Jasprit Bumrah will play in the crucial fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester or not. With India currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series against England, Ten Doeschate acknowledged the team's strong desire to field their pace spearhead in the upcoming match.
Will Jasprit Bumrah play 4th Test against England?
Bumrah participated in the first Test in Leeds and made a notable contribution by taking five wickets in the first innings. He was subsequently rested for the second Test at Edgbaston as part of the team's workload management strategy. Upon his return for the third Test at Lord's, Bumrah once again proved his might by grabbing another five-wicket haul in the first innings.
Indian team held a training session at the County Ground in Beckenham on Thursday, July 17 before their travel to Manchester for the penultimate game of the series, which is a do-or-die for the Shubman Gill's brigade. On the sidelines of India's practice session in Beckenham, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate was asked about Bumrah's chances of featuring in the fourth Test. India's assistant coach made it clear that the call will be taken in Manchester.
"We'll make that call on Bumrah in Manchester. It’s clear the series is on the line now, so we're leaning toward playing him. But we must look at the bigger picture - how many days of cricket we expect, our best chance of winning in Manchester, and how that fits with the Oval Test that follows," Doeschate told reporters.
Bumrah currently holds the position of the second-highest wicket-taker in the series as he has 12 scalps under his belt across four innings at an average of 28.09.
While much of the focus has been on carefully managing Bumrah's workload, Doeschate also stressed on the importance of monitoring the fitness and form of Mohammed Siraj. Siraj is presently the leading wicket-taker in the series, having claimed an impressive 13 wickets, which includes a six-wicket haul in the first innings of the Test match in Birmingham.
"This has been a long tour, and there’s been a lot of talk about Bumrah’s workload. But going forward, we also need to manage Siraj. I think we often take for granted how lucky we are to have someone like him. He may not always get the results in terms of wickets, but he has the heart of a lion. Every time he has the ball in hand, it feels like something will happen. He never shies away from hard work, so it's even more important for us to manage his workload carefully to ensure he stays fit and performs at his best,” Doeschate added.
Meanwhile, in a big setback to Team India, their promising left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has sustained an injury leading up to the next match. India's assistant coach confirmed that Arshdeep Singh had suffered a cut on his bowling hand while attempting to stop a ball during practice.
"He took a ball, while he was bowling there, the side of the ball; he tried to stop the ball. It's just a cut, so we have to see how bad the cut is. Obviously, the medical team is taking him to see a doctor and if he needs stitches, that is going to be important to our planning for the next few days," he concluded.
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