IND vs ENG: Sangakkara questions Bumrah's absence from 2nd Test, asks Indian team management, 'Is Lord's Test...'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "IND vs ENG: Sangakkara questions Bumrah's absence from 2nd Test, asks Indian team management, 'Is Lord's Test...'")
Sangakkara questions Bumrah's absence from 2nd Test, asks 'Is Lord's Test...' Photograph: (AFP)
India made several changes to their starting XI for the second Test, including resting ace quick Jasprit Bumrah to manage his workload.
Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston has sparked quite a debate, with several former cricketers, captains and even broadcasters slamming this decision. While former India coach Ravi Shastri was the first to break his silence on the team’s decision to rest Bumrah despite a week’s window between the two Tests, cricket great Kumar Sangakkara is the latest to speak on it. Without mincing his words, Sangakkara asked ‘those’ who picked the playing XI if the Lord’s Test (next) is more important to India than winning the series?
India made several changes to their starting XI for the second Test, dropping batter Sai Sudharsan, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and Bumrah; they brought in Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Akash Deep in their places. Given they strengthened their batting with those changes, adding another name to their long lower order, India compromised on their wicket-taking bowlers, especially after resting Bumrah and ignoring another X-factor in Kuldeep Yadav.
Considering Bumrah is advised not to play more than three Tests on a long away tour, including not more than two on the trot, Sangakkara questioned management’s call on their priorities. Since India is trailing (0-1) in this five-match series after the Leeds Test, resting Bumrah when they could use him as their trump card and push for a win in the second game, Team India rested him.
“Interesting to understand how the decision is being made and who makes it? Is it after a consultation with the players or the physios? It depends on whether the Lord's Test is more important than the series? The series is on the line,” Sangakkara said while speaking on Sky Cricket.
“If we see the score, it's an even day, perhaps a little bit more tilted towards England with the five wickets down. So I would have expected the coach to have gone to Bumrah and say 'Yes, we thought you might play the 3rd and the 5th Test, but we're going 1 and 2. Take a look if you can play the third if you can, because then you've got two weeks off before the next one," he continued.
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Pressure on Gambhir
Since taking over the head coach role from Rahul Dravid last year, Gambhir tasted enormous success in white-ball cricket, but the same cannot be said about the team’s results in Tests.
After beating Bangladesh at home, India has lost seven out of the nine Tests played, including conceding the three-Test series to New Zealand at home. With three top names (Ravi Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) retiring since the last Australia tour, which India lost 1-3, the pressure mounted on Gambhir and the team management to turn the results in their favour, leading to several questionable decisions.
"It's not just a reaction to the last Test. I think there is a bit of chat about the last 9-10. Seven losses, one win, one draw. There is a little bit of baggage as well to turn that pattern around. So there was a lot of pressure and they were looking at this game and thinking 'alright, what can we do?' and they ring in all the changes," Sangakkara added.
