Of India’s star dependence and the Kuldeep question
New Delhi: No team in international cricket is more dependent on their best individual performer than India. Perhaps that may be a tad too much but when a team is assured of wickets at an average (wickets by runs) of 19.60 and a strike rate (wickets by balls bowled) of 42.3, Jasprit Bumrah’s usual returns, it is only right to assume that the absence with hurt more than usual.
In one-day internationals and Twenty20, the limited nature of the format allows teams to paper over the cracks. If a star is missing, someone else can step in and get through the overs somehow. But in Test cricket, quality matters.
The requirement isn’t runs. India got plenty of them at Headingley. But while England managed to get 20 wickets, India’s bowlers didn’t. And now they may have to attempt to do that at Edgbaston, Birmingham presumably without Bumrah, the man who is head and shoulder above all the other bowlers in the series.
There’s been so much talk of whether Bumrah will play or not but we still don’t know for sure what India’s call is. But sometimes someone’s absence can just be as inspiring as their presence – remember India’s great victory at the Gabba in 2021? Either way, India will hope there is some truth in that statement.
Given that India are 0-1 down in the series, they would love to have their best bowler playing in the second Test. After all, who wants to lose the first two Tests of a five-match series, but there is the workload to contend with.
“Bumrah is definitely available,” said skipper Shubman Gill on Tuesday. “We are just going to see how to manage his workload in the upcoming Test matches. And yes, we are trying to find the right combination where we can take 20 wickets and score runs as well on such kind of wickets. We just thought we are going to have a final look today once we come to the ground and see what kind of combination that we want to go with tomorrow.”
While batters on both sides made merry at Headingley – a total of 1,673 runs were scored by the two teams, the highest aggregate in a Test between England and India – the only pause in the mayhem was when Bumrah would stutter in to bowl.
India have a poor record at Edgbaston – of the eight Tests played, they have lost seven and drawn one. The nature of the wicket has changed though and the weather has been hot and dry in the lead-up to the match starting on Thursday. That is one of the reasons why India are considering playing two spinners, the other being that they felt spin helped them control the proceedings better than pace at Headingley.
The question then is who should the second spinner be. There is talk that off-spinner Washington Sundar’s better batting abilities might give him the edge over wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
It seems like the move will add depth to India’s fragile lower order, but at what cost? Given how aggressively England bat, Kuldeep’s guile might be just as valuable as Sundar’s runs but that call will depend on the combination India decide to go with.
“If we are able to go with four or five premier bowlers with a sixth bowling option and have batting to seven or eight, that would be a good combination,” Gill said.
India’s problem
India coach Gautam Gambhir and Gill knew what they were getting when Bumrah was picked for the series. They knew he would need to be managed but now they need to decide whether they want him to play now or hold him back for later.
England, for now, are just enjoying the show.
“(Bumrah is) India’s problem to deal with. I am the captain of England. Let India decide what they want to do and what they want to say publicly,” Ben Stokes said when asked whether Bumrah resting for the second Test can be an advantage to England.
There is no substituting the subliminal force that Bumrah is. He influences everything in his sphere, but for India to flourish, the other bowlers need to step up. The star will need some angels to help him along.
With or without Bumrah, India will be in trouble if the attack leaks runs as it did at Headingley. If Bumrah doesn’t play, they might go to Arshdeep Singh for his ability to swing the ball or Akash Deep for the Mohammed Shami-like consistency he can bring to the table.
Siraj will have to find his best self. He’s got heart but that alone won’t win India matches. If Bumrah doesn’t play, he will have to be the big brother to the other pacers, and that is quite the responsibility too.
Edgbaston is known to be a bowl-first ground. There is some rain forecast as well but in the last decade, the quicks have averaged 30.00 and spinners 44.45 at the venue. That is why in a game that is expected to be dominated by the bat, the game-changer could well be a bowler who bucks the trend.
From India’s perspective, that could be Bumrah, or well, anyone else will do too.