Ben Stokes shares brutal take on Jasprit Bumrah before second Test, says ‘He is India’s problem to deal with’

New Delhi: Captain of England Cricket team Ben Stokes has brushed aside all rumors about Jasprit Bumrah leading to the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which is staged on July 2 in Birmingham. In a press conference a day before the match took place, Stokes clarified that there is nothing to be worried about in the England camp concerning Bumrah and whether he will be available to play throughout the complete five matches of the series or not.

“(Bumrah is) India’s problem to deal with. I am the captain of England. Let India decide what they want to do and what they want to say publicly,” Stokes said when he was asked whether Bumrah resting for the second Test match can be an advantage to England.

Prior to the five-Test series, India clarified that Jasprit Bumrah would play in only three Test matches as he might suffer a strain by playing all the five matches on the trot. It was the comeback of the right-arm pacer who has been out of the game with a back problem that ruled him out of more than two months. He bowled 44 overs in the first Test and dismissed five in the first innings.

After losing the first Test by five wickets, the head coach Gautam Gambhir has revealed that the workload management plan is in place regarding Jasprit Bumrah. Therefore, the star pacer will only play two out of the last four tests in that series.

“No, we won’t change the plans. For us to manage his workload is more important because there’s a lot of cricket going forward, and we know what he brings to the table as well. Before he came on the show, it was already decided that he was going to play three Test matches,” said Gambhir in Leeds.

But let’s see how his body turns out. We haven’t decided which two other Test matches he’s going to play. (Even without Bumrah) We absolutely have the bowling attack (to compete). We believe in them. We trust in them,” he added.

Jasprit Bumrah unlikely for second Test

In case Jasprit Bumrah is kept out of the Birmingham Test, the pace department of the Indian side might seem pretty weakened. Bumrah was the sole Indian bowler at Headingley, who troubled the England batters on a regular basis, which explains why it was so critical to have him in the bowling unit.

Akash Deep becomes the favorite candidate to be elected to the Indian playing XI in the case of Bumrah’s absence. But the left-arm angle of Arshdeep Singh can provide variation and this may also be one of the possible options.

Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep have also been sweating it off in the nets as they gear up to be included in the playing XI, should it become available to them, in the second Test.

Jofra Archer comes back into the England squad

England have chosen to retain the same eleven players of Birmingham Test. Even though Jofra Archer joined the team as part of its injury recovery process, he is not playing so far. Notably, Archer was absent during Mondays training session because he had an emergency at home.

“Archer is back with us after a long time, it’s important for him to be with the group this week. He is important for this series. I know Archer better than you (Reporters). He wants to return to Tests and play for England, that’s what I know,” Stokes added.

 

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