With a decent break before the third Test and the five-match series locked 1-1, the biggest concern for India is how their biggest match-winner Jasprit Bumrah shapes up in the next week.
India are yet to name the squad for the remaining three Tests. Though Bumrah is certain to make it, the lingering question is when to give him a rest. Last week, despite Mohammed Siraj bowling full throttle at the nets two days before the Test, India’s think-tank decided to send him home from Vizag.
He could have avoided taking the flight to Vizag in the first place, which would have given him a few extra days to spend at home. But it was a decision they took at the eleventh hour, keeping the larger picture of workload in mind and it wasn’t just that of Siraj, but also Bumrah. With both needed for the final Test in Dharamsala, India have to use them judiciously at Rajkot or Ranchi, where they will pair up again.
In the two Tests so far, apart from Ravichandran Ashwin on the fourth morning in Vizag, no Indian bowler has embraced the threat of Bazball as much as Bumrah. In both matches, it is Bumrah who has broken England’s back.