Jasprit Bumrah has taken all three England wickets in the first innings of the first Test in Leeds.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik have expressed concerns on India’s overdependence on Jasprit Bumrah in the ongoing Test series against England.
Jasprit Bumrah’s workload in the five-match series against England is a major cause for concern and because of his recurring back injuries, the Gujarat pacer will only play three Tests in the series.
Jasprit Bumrah has taken all three England wickets so far, with the hosts having posted 209/3 at stumps on Saturday’s Day two. England are replying to India’s first innings total of 471.
The 31-year-old often delivers when it matters the most but in the first Test against England, he has lacked substantial support from fellow pacers Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur.
After play on Day two on Saturday, former England cricketer Nasser Hussain noted the difference between Jasprit Bumrah and the other bowlers. “With how unorthodox he is, they could have had more wickets if they had caught well off him,” Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports.
“It will be a concern for India the drop off from when Bumrah is bowling to the rest. But it is a small sample size, the others will get into the series,” he added.
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“I’m really concerned about Bumrah and what his workload will be as the series progresses, because he is the one man who is expected to pick wickets every spell he bowls. I just hope someone at the other end puts their hands up,” replied Ravi Shastri.
To add context, Jasprit Bumrah finished the day with figures of 3/48 whereas the rest of India’s bowlers ended up going wicketless and conceding 154 runs.
Dinesh Karthik felt that there was a huge void between Jasprit Bumrah and the rest of the Indian bowling attack. “There was too much of a void between [Bumrah] and the rest. And you could see England also had it on the back of their minds that, ‘If we play this spell, we’d have a good chance’.
“That’s going to put pressure on the skipper because every time he’s under pressure, he’s going to go to Bumrah now. [But, at the same time,] he (Bumrah) has got a body that he has to take care of,” the former Tamil Nadu cricketer told Cricbuzz.
“In a day where there are hardly 60 overs bowled, Bumrah has already bowled 13. Every time you need a wicket, it has to be Bumrah. And he always does it for you so you get into that habit. Others need to find a way to definitely push the captain and say, ‘I am ready, give me the ball, this is my plan, I want to do this’,” added the 40-year-old.
England, who trail India by 262 runs, will begin the third day on Sunday with Ollie Pope (100) and Harry Brook (0) in the middle. Earlier, centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), skipper Shubman Gill (147) and Rishabh Pant (134) had propelled India to 471 in the first innings after being asked to bat.
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