India won the two games Bumrah didn't participate in.
The unavailability of Jasprit Bumrah made more noise than the impact he could make in the three Tests he played in the ENG vs IND series. India won the two matches Bumrah didn’t feature, in Birmingham and at The Oval. Coincidence? Monty Panesar thinks not.
Under new skipper Shubman Gill, and with a relatively younger team following the retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli, India completed a major assignment on English soil by drawing the five-Test series 2-2.
India cured the Monday blues with their narrowest-ever Test win at The Oval to draw the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The dramatic yet glorious victory came on the back of a strong bowling duo – Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.
What seemed impossible ahead of the series, due to Bumrah’s absence, was made possible by an all-round team effort. Commenting on the same, former player Monty Panesar feels that though Bumrah’s hype is massive, India can do just fine without him.
“Of course, Bumrah is a good bowler, but he wasn’t part of the matches that India won. This Indian team does not depend on Bumrah anymore. Bumrah’s hype is absolutely massive, but let’s be honest, India have a strong bowling attack,” Panesar said to Mid-Day.
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During England’s first innings, Siraj and Krishna shared four wickets each while Akash Deep scalped one. Trailing 224, England brushed past India to put together 247 runs. Zak Crawley and Harry Brook made fifties while Ben Duckett added 43 runs.
Then, chasing 374 in the second innings, England rode on centuries by Joe Root and Brook, along with a half-century from Duckett. Before Stumps on Day 4, Krishna took the ever-important wicket of Joe Root to put the ball in India’s court. Finally, on the last day, Siraj cleared up England’s tail to seal the win.
“(Prasidh) Krishna is getting better and better with every Test match. I think he can open the bowling with Siraj. They just need a third seamer, Akash Deep or Arshdeep Singh or someone else. Siraj utilised the conditions really well. He’s a huge asset for Indian cricket. I think he leads the attack now and India need to build the attack around him,” Panesar added while talking about India’s terrific display at The Oval.
The equation heading into the final day stood at 35 runs for England or four wickets for India. Amid the tense situation, both pacers held nerves of steel. Siraj added three wickets to his tally to complete his fifer, while Krishna took care of Josh Tongue’s wicket.
Overall, after the end of five exhilarating Tests, Siraj leads the leaderboard for taking the most wickets (23). Bumrah and Krishna took 14 wickets each, while Akash follows the list with 13 wickets. All three players’ best spells came in the Tests without Bumrah.
The way this pace duo controlled the game, despite the absence of Bumrah, spoke volumes about their determination and talent. While Bumrah remains as the national treasure, it’s safe to say that the future of India in Tests lies in safe hands.
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