After being 1-0 down in the Test series against England, India made the shocking decision of resting Jasprit Bumrah for the second match at Edgbaston. This came after both head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill had confirmed that the star pacer will only be playing three out of the five Tests against England as he needs to manage his workload.
However, former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri wasn't a big fan of the decision and stated that it is 'very hard to believe' that Gambher & Co. have gone ahead and rested the best Test bowler in the world in such an important match. Akash Deep was the one who replaced Bumrah in the starting XI.
Shastri expressed shock over India's call of resting Bumrah
"This is a very important match, they've had a week off. I'm little surprised Bumrah is not playing this game. It should be taken out of the player's hand. It should be the captain and the coaching staff that should decide who should be playing the 11. This is an important game in the context of the series, he should be playing this game more than anything else," Shastri said on Sky Sports' broadcast.
“Lord's can come later. This is the important game where you got to counter punch almost straightaway. Play this one. Make it 1-1 and then give him the option: you want to rest at Lord's, rest at Lord's. You think he'll rest at Lord's? No chance if you win this. If you look at the run, India has had, this becomes a very, very important test match," he added.
“You've lost three against New Zealand, you've lost three against Australia. You've lost the first Test match here and you want to get back to winning ways. You have the best fast bowler in the side, in the world, and you make him sit out after seven days of rest, it's something very hard to believe," he further said.
At the toss for the match, Gill stated that the team management came to the decision that Lord's will be the place where Bumrah will be able to do a better job and thus, made the tough call to rest the 31-year-old. However, former England pacer Stuart Broad also wasn't satisfied with India's call of resting Bumrah, stating that a week should have been enough for the seamer to get back to full fitness.
“A week is a very good time off for a fast bowler. (Bumrah's omission) does surprise me and what also surprised me was him saying before the series he will only play three of the five Tests. You keep those cards close to your chest and play each week as it comes. They will definitely want Bumrah at Lord's because of the movement you can get through the air, so can they risk him here?" Broad stated.
Other than Bumrah, the Indian team management also decided to bench both Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur. They brought in Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy as their replacements in the playing XI. Though these changes strengthen India's batting lineup even more, opting to rest Bumrah is a decision that can backfire big time for the visitors.