India still on the fence about playing Jasprit Bumrah in the Edgbaston Test: Reports

The hosts have already announced their Playing XI for the second India vs England Test. The England Playing XI remains unchanged as Ben Stokes and Co. eye a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The visitors, meanwhile, are still undecided on their combination for the fixture. The most crucial aspect of India's Playing XI for the Edgbaston Test is the availability of their pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah. Gauging by his current form and the otherwise disappointing performance from the rest of the attack in Leeds, the visitors rely heavily on the speedster. However, Bumrah is confirmed to play only three Tests in England due to workload management plans. Now, whether the Edgbaston Test is one of the two fixtures set to be missed by Bumrah remains unclear.

Jasprit Bumrah available for the second India vs England Test, but the final call hangs in balance

India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, updated the media about the team's preparation for the second India vs England Test. The five-match series opened with the visitors suffering a 5-wicket defeat at Headingley despite scoring over 800 runs. While the Indian batters piled up five centuries, the other departments left too many loopholes for the hosts to exploit. 

In the first match, Jasprit Bumrah emerged as the only firing prospect from India's bowling department. With England already 1-0 ahead in the series, the Edgbaston Test holds utter significance if India aims to clinch the momentum. And for a win in Birmingham, a venue where India is yet to win its first Test match, Bumrah is etched as the most-wanted asset.

Earlier reports suggested that the speedster is likely to miss the second India vs England game. The updates from India's net sessions provided scattered details, where Bumrah joined the action on one day but missed the initial sessions. However, in the latest update, ten Doeschate informed that Bumrah is available for selection at Edgbaston. While available, the management is yet to take the final call on playing the ace speedster in Birmingham.

“He's available for the game, obviously. We know from the start he's only going to play three out of the five. He's obviously had eight days to recover from the last Test. But given conditions, workload, and how we think we can best manage for the next four games, we haven't made a call on that,” said Ryan ten Doeschate. “We're going to see what the other guys are with their workload as well. So technically, yes, he's available,” he added.

The assistant coach further confirmed that there are no injury concerns troubling Bumrah right now. However, with the priority to manage his workload strategically across the five Tests in England, the call to play the speedster relies on multiple aspects. Doeschate explained that the nature of the pitch and the weather conditions would be counted in to calculate the needed elements in the combination for the Tests. With these categories affecting the planning, the decision on Bumrah is bound to be a last-minute call.

“With Bumrah, he is ready to play. It's how we manage these four Tests. So if we feel like there's value in playing him in this Test, we'll make that call at the very last minute. But I'm talking about weather, how the pitch is going to play. Are we better off holding him back for Lord's and maybe Manchester or the Oval? So it's all those factors,” said Doeschate.

The Indian coach furthermore expressed the urge to play Bumrah in the second India vs England Test. Playing at Edgbaston, India has the chance to level the series at the initial stage before the pressure loads at the final fixtures. With Bumrah, the chance for the team to go 1-1 is much higher than fielding a team that would present a fairly raw attack without the speedster. However, Doeschate also reiterated the need to keep the pacer fit and available across the stages in the India vs England series.

“It is tempting, but we also feel we can go 1-1 or keep the score at 1-0 without Jasprit. That's putting the eggs in the back end of the series. We're going to need him at some stage as well. You've got to decide when you're going to play your strongest suit,” he said.

“We feel that whatever we put out there, we can compete in this Test match. We came pretty close without Jasprit in the second half. He didn't get any wickets. But you can't win the Test series with just one bowler in any case. And the bowlers are very well aware of that, that they need to chip in with wickets. Sorry, I can't give you a more firm answer. But we'll work out in the next 24 hours how we're going to manage Jasprit,” he added.