IND vs ENG: Ravi Shastri Lambasts Gautam Gambhir for Resting Jasprit Bumrah in Second Test at Edgbaston

Ahead of the second India vs England Test at Edgbaston, head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill took the big call of resting Jasprit Bumrah, their star pacer, for what was already a must-win Test match given India are 1-0 behind after losing the series opener at Headingley by 5 wickets. 

And it was a decision that left not only fans perplexed, but even former India head coach Ravi Shastri who said that he was a ‘little surprised’ that India chose this match to give their all-important asset a bit of time off. 

Akash Deep came into the playing XI in his place but in Shastri's opinion, Bumrah needed to be the first name on the team sheet. 

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Shastri Questions Indian Team Management

The main reason for Shastri's ire is that the team have had almost a week's gap from the first Test to the second and this should have been enough time for Bumrah to rest up. 

"This is a very important match, they’ve had a week off. I’m little surprised Bumrah is not playing this game. It should be taken out of the player’s hand. It should be the captain and the coaching staff that should decide who should be playing the 11. This is an important game in the context of the series, he should be playing this game more than anything else," Shastri said on Sky Sports.

Speaking at the toss, Gill said that they were choosing to keep Bumrah for Lord's where they expected more favourable conditions. 

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The Bumrah Conundrum for India

After the first Test loss, head coach Gambhir had revealed to the press that the plan for Bumrah was always that he would play 3 out of the 5 Tests in this series. 

However, he also stressed that no call had been taken on which matches he would miss and it seemed clear that would be decided only on a game-by-game basis. 

Even ahead of the second Test, every indication was that Bumrah was up for selection and he even bowled lengthy spells in the nets. But with the dice now cast, India will have to hope their gamble pays off.