India's concern about Bumrah's 'fitness' in the fourth Test starting on Wednesday at Old Trafford
What you should know
India face England at Old Trafford on Wednesday in the crucial fourth Test. Before that, India is in a quandary whether to play star pacer Jasprit Bumrah or not. The concern is also about Bumrah's fitness.
England have an opportunity to win this test in Manchester and take the series in their favor. Not only India, India also has another dilemma, which batting order to field Ben Stokes and Ravindra Jadeja. England lead 2-1 in the 5 test series.
In the third Test at Lord's, India suffered a painful defeat by 22 runs. If India wins the Test series for the first time in English football since 2007, it will not lose the fourth Test. The main question before India is about Bumrah and his fitness.
Indian coach Gautam Gambhir had said before the start of the series that Bumrah would be available for only three Tests. Because he has a back problem. This 31-year-old bowler has played only the first and third Tests for India.
India has been defeated in all three Tests played by Bumrah. India won the second test. If India uses the top bowler in the world Test rankings, he will not be available for the fifth and final Test. This could be a decisive match.
Gambir's assistant Ryan Ten said, "What we know is that Bumrah will have to be played in one of the last Tests." The upcoming Test in Manchester is likely to be decisive, so Bumrah will be more likely to play in it and it is only natural.
Trouble in the top order
England are certainly in the running to win the series, but have not been able to make a firm decision on who to play where in the top order. The biggest problem is opener Jack Crowley. He could only make 18 and 22 runs in the two innings at Lord's.
Ollie Pope, batting third, scored 44 runs in the first innings at Lord's, but was restricted to four runs thereafter. Another opener, Ben Duckett, scored just 23 and 12 runs. England will have to decide whether to keep faith with Crowley or not.
Crowley's international career has had its fair share of ups and downs. His history of scoring 267 against Pakistan and 189 against Australia shows that this 27-year-old batsman has the ability to do something solid. But he has a bad habit of losing wickets cheaply.
Because of his performance, there is a debate about changing the batting order in English cricket. The English team has shown faith in them so far. Captain Stokes says, “Their right and left batting pair have been good. One is tall, the other is not. It is difficult to bowl against them.
Stokes against Jadeja
Stoke for England and Jadeja for India did well at Lord's. Especially Jadeja almost led his team to victory. Therefore, there will be a lot of hope on these two all-rounders. Stokes scored 77 runs in two innings while playing the captaincy innings and also took 5 wickets.
He ran out Rishabh Pant, which proved decisive in the Test itself. Stokes bowled 44 overs challenging his body. On the sensational final and fifth day, he bowled two spells of 9.2 and 10 overs.
This is the first time he has bowled so much since returning from injury in 6 years. He is now 34 years old. English player Joe Root says, "It's a great effort on his part. Probably he is lured for good performance.'
On the other hand, Jadeja also turned 36 years old. However, age has not been a problem for him yet. He kept India in Tests until the last moment at Lord's. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired, Jadeja is the most experienced and mature player.
