Published: Jul 17, 2025, 07:26 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 17, 2025, 07:26 PM (IST)
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has indicated that there will be a preference for making fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah play in the upcoming fourth Test against England, but a final call on this will be taken closer to game day in Manchester.
Ahead of the Test tour of England, chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir had announced that Bumrah will only play three of the five games in the series as part of workload management.
That policy has meant that Bumrah played in Tests at Headingley and Lord’s, while being rested from the Edgbaston game. But with a week’s gap between third and fourth Tests, Bumrah might just play in the Test at Old Trafford, starting on July 23, as India aim to equalize the series scoreline after a 22-run loss at Lord’s.
“We’ll make that call in Manchester still. 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. But again, we’ve got to look at all the factors,” said ten Doeschate in a press conference, on the sidelines of India’s practice session at Beckenham.
“How many days of cricket are we going to get up there? What do we feel is our best chance of winning that game? And then how that fits in together with the Oval and looking at the last two games holistically as part of the series,” he added.
Even though the Indian team lost the third Test of the series at the Lord’s, and are trailing 1-2, they still have a chance to grab a hold of the trophy as they aim to win the upcoming two matches- with the next match set to be held at Manchester from July 23rd, and the final match set to be held at The Oval from 31st July.
(Written with inputs from IANS)
