CHENNAI: During the journey from England's north to the midlands, the Indian management will have been deep in thought with respect to the situation surrounding Jasprit Bumrah. He's the ultimate plug and play operator in world cricket but there's also the question about his workload.
The allure of a Lord's Test may see Bumrah missing out from featuring at Edgbaston in the second Test, beginning next Wednesday. Even otherwise, Edgbaston has become a very Bazball ground. Since the beginning of 2022, teams average over 35 while scoring at 4 runs per over (average below 29 and 3.72 are the corresponding Lord's numbers). So, the smart money is on the management giving their star pacer a break as they manage his workload and fitness. It's kind of understandable why they want to be extra careful with him: he's already had a couple of big injuries, with the one in Sydney coming earlier this year.
"I think for us to manage Bumrah's workload is more important because there's a lot of cricket going forward and we know that what he brings to the table as well," coach Gautam Gambhir had said after the first Test. "So before he came on this tour, it was already decided that he's going to play three Test matches, but let's see how his body turns up. But we haven't decided which two other Test matches he's going to play."
If Edgbaston, the venue where Bumrah captained India in a Test in 2022, is where he will get one of his two breaks, the one obvious question pertains to the make up of the bowling unit. The closest like for like replacement in terms of taking the new ball is Arshdeep Singh but they are different bowlers. But that will just be the one of the many jigsaws the think-tank will have to think about.
Assuming the southpaw features, he will share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj, the bowler who has already led the attack multiple times in the absence of Bumrah. They can go down the route of Kuldeep Yadav replacing somebody like a Shardul Thakur. There is also Akash Deep to be considered. They badly missed a second genuine wicket-taking option in the first Test and considering India's stated aim is to be aggressive with the ball, Yadav makes a lot of sense. His left-arm wristspin can be tough to decode even on pitches not aiding spin. However, if they do go that route, they will run the risk of a batting line-up finishing with four No. 11s.
After twin failures, the visitors may be loath to do that. They may also consider bringing in Nitish Reddy in place of Thakur but the former is more of a batting all-rounder than a bowling at this point in time. However, bowling coach, Morne Morkel, has already spent a fair amount of time with the former on this tour. "I think he (Reddy) is skilful," the South African had remarked before the series began, "He is a guy who can bowl that magical ball. So for him, it is about creating that consistency, and that's something we want to work on. It's important for his game as well.
"I've had conversations with him where I've challenged him to bowl a bit more. I want to see the ball more in his hands. We all know what he can do with the bat. But for a team, if you can have those bowling options, especially in these conditions, I think he'll be one to be excited and complement his bowling at that," he added.
The 22-year-old doesn't have Thakur's experience but the management have no qualms in giving him game-time. However, Reddy, who owns a bowling average of below 30 in first-class cricket, didn't even bowl an average of 10 overs per Test in Australia. If he does comes in place of the Thakur, there will be more asked of him in the bowling department.
When the tour began, the Indian team knew they had to answer a number of questions with regard to transition in the batting line-up. One week into the series, the bowling line-up is the one giving them sleepless nights.
