Bumrah will not play the Oval Test with the decision taken after his enormous workload in the fourth Test.
The fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, which begins Thursday, will not include Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah has been informed by the BCCI medical staff that the choice is consistent with protecting his spine and considering the long term.
Given that the medical staff, Bumrah, the Indian team management, and the selectors had agreed that he would only play three of the five Test matches during the England tour, the development is not wholly unexpected. In addition to playing in the first Test at Headingley, Bumrah missed the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won, and the next two Tests at Lord’s and Old Trafford last week.
India may have considered altering the original plan given that Bumrah hasn’t bowled since the fourth morning at Old Trafford and that there will be a three-day break between the final two Test matches. This is especially true given that a victory at The Oval might tie the series at 2-2.
But in the fourth Test, Bumrah’s pace had been affected by the workload as well as a slowish, level surface. His runs column had crossed 100 for the first time, and he took two wickets in 33 overs, the most he had ever bowled in an innings. He bowled fewer balls beyond 140 kph in the first innings of each Test as the series went on.
It was clear during India’s optional training session on Tuesday who would take Bumrah’s place. On the greener practice pitches, Akash Deep, who missed the fourth Test due to a groin ache, recovered his rhythm with ease and seamed the ball noticeably. Akash Deep extracted movement from a benign surface in the second Test at Edgbaston, his first Test since Melbourne in December. He took ten wickets in the match, including a career-best 6 for 99 in England’s second innings.
However, Akash was inconsistent in the next Test at Lord’s, particularly when bowling downhill from the Pavilion End. Although he only took one wicket in the Test, Akash might be able to immediately return to the field thanks to The Oval’s seamer-friendly conditions.