India vs England: Will Bumrah make Manchester debut?

There seems to be little choice for the Indian team management but play Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test at Manchester, with assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate indicating that there will be a ‘leaning towards playing him’ on Thursday. Down 2-1 with the series on the line, the Indians got down to business in the quiet surroundings of Beckenham almost a week ahead of the next Test, starting 23 July.

Much in the manner of TV pundits raising their pitch to make Bumrah play his ‘third Test’ at Old Trafford itself, the options before Gautam Gambhir & Co. are narrowing, with new concerns emerging about the workload of Bumrah's tireless partner Mohammed Siraj as well. A piece of statistic tells the tale: Siraj has bowled 109 overs across six England innings so far, the maximum by an Indian bowler in the series.

There was also some disquieting news in the Indian camp when left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who has yet to make his debut in Test cricket, was spotted with a heavily strapped hand during nets. Doeschate clarified that he was hit by a ball during the training session and was immediately taken to the doctor.

‘’He took a ball while he was bowling there. So he hit a ball and he tried to stop it and it's just a cut. So we have to see how bad the cut is. Obviously, the medical team have taken him off to see a doctor and obviously, if he needs stitches or does he not, that will be important to our planning for the next few days,’’ he said.

Calling Siraj the ‘’lion-hearted’’ core of India's bowling attack, the assistant coach stressed the importance of managing his workload too to keep him in peak condition. His words further hinted that while Arshdeep might have been in consideration for Manchester, his injury has left the Siraj-Bumrah situation in limbo for now.

Replying to the obvious query on Bumrah, the Dutchman was as transparent as he could get in the build-up to the next Test. ‘’We'll make that call in Manchester. We know we've got him for one of the last two Tests. I think it’s pretty obvious the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him,’’ he said.

This could well be Bumrah’s first appearance at Old Trafford, where India have yet to win a Test match. In nine attempts at the venue thus far, they lost on four occasions to England while five others ended in a draw. The last time India were due to play in Manchester, the match was cancelled after a Covid outbreak in their camp during the 2021 tour.