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With India cricket team currently in England for a five-match Test series, they will hope to bounce back in style and level it in Manchester, hoping to take it in the decider, set to be played at the Kennington Oval in London from July 31 onwards. But with the fourth Test now set to take place from July 23 to July 27 at the Emirates Old Trafford, the visitors will have a daunting task to field their best combination.
With the Manchester Test just days away from start, the Indian team management will have to manage Jasprit Bumrah and also look at Rishabh Pant’s availability, who is currently nursing a finger injury. It is to be noted that Pant sustained a finger injury on the opening day of the Lord’s Test, following which he did not keep the wickets. As a result, Dhruv Jurel was handed the wicketkeeping gloves for the remainder of the Test.
Workload was fitness: Harbhajan Singh on Bumrah’s workload management
With doubt over Pant’s full availability, the biggest question which arises is whether Jasprit Bumrah will play the fourth Test or the fifth. It is to be noted that Bumrah has been entitled to play only three Tests in the ongoing tour, a statement which Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill have also reiterated. While this move comes in order to manage him due to his recent injury, Bhajji, as he is fondly called, highlighted on the term “workload management”.
Speaking on the sidelines of WCL 2025, Harbhajan Singh said, "See, workload management is a new thing. Once IPL came, people said that I will bowl 24 balls in a match and they will be absolutely spot on, and that is how people trained. If you go back in the past? What was workload? Workload was fitness. Players played 5-match series in the past as well. But yes, if someone is concerned about the injury, then you need to be careful.”
At the end, the former Indian spinner asserted that if Bumrah is fit and can bowl long spells, he should do that and play as many as five Tests. "Jasprit is the most honest cricketer out there. If he is not in pain, he will not only bowl a 4-over spell, he will bowl a 10-over spell for you. He did that in Australia as well. He bowled so much there that he got injured. His action contributes to that well. His run-up is short, and you have to bowl at high speed, so the finishing of his action puts a lot of stress on the body. If his body is well, make him play 5 Tests. If he plays 5 Tests, India will win the series. Ask any opposition, they will say that they do not prefer facing Bumrah," he added.
India’s Test squad for England series
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
