Team India completed their final training session on Wednesday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot in preparation for the third Test match of the five-game series against England which begins on Thursday. But vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah was nowhere to be seen. For the third time since the team assembled in the city, with the aim to claim a lead against England for the first time in the contest, Bumrah skipped the practice session amid talks that he might be rested for the match.
India’s few selection concerns in the buildup to the third Test pertained to finding a replacement for Shreyas Iyer, wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat’s form and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s fitness. Amid these, there were media reports on whether Bumrah would be rested for the third Test, with India wary of workload management.
There was a nine-day rest between the second and the third Test, perhaps sufficient time to a player to recover for a subsequent match, which led to few thinking if the Bumrah move would at all be considered, with fourth Test being a better option to rest the fast bowler as India will need him in Dharamsala for the series finale.
However, with Bumrah, named vice-captain for the remaining Tests, in a rather uncharacteristic stance, not being part of any of the practice sessions in Rajkot, it seems India might rest him against England in the third Test. Although Bumrah has linked up with the Indian team in Rajkot on Wednesday.
It would be a bizarre move if the team management opts to rest Bumrah, who had picked up a nine-wicket haul in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, here the hosts levelled the series at 1-1 after a 108-run win. Bumrah finished with his best bowling figures of 6 for 45 in the first innings in Vizag, his best-ever show on home soil and third overall, en route to which he even became the fastest Indian bowler to 150 Test wickets.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
