Will Jasprit Bumrah play 4th Test vs England? Assistant coach opens up

Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has indicated that there is a possibility of playing the Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test against England, scheduled to start on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford in Manchester.

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However, Bumrah spent a lot of time at the gym, but didn’t come out to bowl as India had a long net session at the Beckenham County Ground on Thursday, July 17. It’s important to note that the Manchester Test will be the series-deciding encounter.

“We will still make that call in Manchester, as we know we’ve got him for one of the last two Tests. It’s pretty obvious the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him,” Ryan said.

“But again, we have got to look at all the factors — how many days of cricket are we going to get up there? What do we feel is our best chance of winning that game? And then how that fits in together with The Oval and looking at the last two games holistically as part of the series,” he added.

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It’s worth noting that the Indian selection committee had confirmed, while selecting the squad, that Bumrah would take part in only three out of five Tests on the England tour to manage his workload.

However, with seamer Arshdeep Singh sustaining a cut on his bowling hand in the nets session, India doesn’t have too many options left for the Manchester Test. Nevertheless, Arshdeep’s selection depends on the medical team’s report.

“We have to see how bad the cut is. The medical team has taken him to see a doctor and obviously if he needs stitches or doesn’t need stitches that’s going to be important to our planning for the next few days,” he concluded.

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