Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl with the new ball on the last day of the Test.
India captain Shubman Gill has dismissed fitness concerns regarding pacer Jasprit Bumrah after the latter did not bowl with the new ball during England’s run chase in the first Test in Leeds on Tuesday. India lost the first Test against England by five wickets on Tuesday, with Ben Duckett (149) scoring a match-winning century.
Jasprit Bumrah, who took a five-wicket haul in the first innings, went wicketless in the second innings and registered figures of 0/57. While the Gujarat pacer is known to be excellent with the new ball, Shubman Gill handed over the new ball to Mohammed Siraj with Ravindra Jadeja bowling from the other end.
However, the ploy to bowl Ravindra Jadeja from the other end was a setback for India, as Jamie Smith (44) amassed 18 runs in his over, which led England to victory.
“No, he’s [Jasprit Bumrah] completely fit. Nothing like that. They were 15 or 20 runs left, so we just wanted to give it to some other bowlers, but he is definitely fit,” Shubman Gill told the BBC during the post-match interview.
India will look to level the series 1-1 when they meet England in the second Test at Edgbaston that starts from July 2. There is a significant gap between now and that.
When asked if Bumrah will play the second Test, Shubman Gill said, “It’s definitely match-by-match. We’ve got a good break after this match. Once we go to Birmingham and see the wicket, we will see if he’s going to play that one or not.”
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India had set England a target of 371 on Day four of the first Test. The hosts’ openers were off to a comfortable start as Zak Crawley (65) and Ben Duckett (149) combined for 188 runs. That set the platform for England’s win as Joe Root (53) and Jamie eventually sealed the deal.
Jasprit Bumrah has had recurring back issues for a while. In early 2023, he underwent surgery to treat back issues and was forced to miss the IPL that year as well as the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Earlier this year, he sustained a back spasm during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney, which meant that he missed the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as well as the start of IPL 2025.
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