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With there being still no confirmation regarding the participation of Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test that is set to begin from July 2 at Edgbaston, England pacer Mark Wood believes that the Men in Blue cannot afford to rest the 31-year-old as without him, their chances of winning the the second Test will go drastically low. Wood also feels that Bumrah won't be rested for the Lord's Test either.
Bumrah was India's stand-out bowler in the first Test
Notably, Bumrah was the only Indian bowler who posed constant challenges for the England batters during the first Test at Headingley. The pacer even picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings, however ended up going wicket-less on the second occasion. He didn't receive much support from the pace trio of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur, who were only able to pick up a total of nine wickets combined during the match.
The bowling department let India down big time as England chased down the 371-run target on the fifth day and won the match in Leeds by five wickets, registering a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
"They cannot afford to go 2-0 down. So you want your best bowler. There's no way he's saying, 'I'm not playing at Lord's.' I don't think so. I think he'll want to play both games," Wood said on the Sky Sports podcast.
"Even if, let's just say, India win the next one and it's 1-1, I still think they'll want him to make the difference, to get them ahead. I think every overseas bowler wants to get on that board, and he'll be the same," he added.
Former England cricketer Michael Atherton feels that Bumrah would definitely want to play the match at Lord's which will commence from July 10. Hence, the 31-year-old can very well be absent from India's playing XI for the match at Edgbaston.
"They have got a decision to make over Bumrah, first of all, because every overseas player wants to play in a Lord's Test," Atherton stated.
"In cricketing terms, he should certainly play at Edgbaston, and I'd think very carefully about Old Trafford, because that's the kind of ground where pace and reverse swing are really important. But as you say, every cricketer wants to play at Lord's and get on that honours board," he added.
Interestingly, it will be a monumental feat for Shubman Gill & Co. if they manage to emerge victorious in the clash at Edgbaston as the Indian team hasn't recorded a victory at the venue in their history. Their best result so far is a draw which came far back in 1986.
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