In the second Test, which started on Wednesday, July 2, at Edgbaston, Birmingham, India rested their talismanic seamer, Jasprit Bumrah, confirming reports. Ravi Shastri was among the first former cricket players to criticise Gautam Gambhir and company, but this choice has drawn a lot of criticism.
Even though there was a seven-day break before the second Test, former India head coach Shastri was unable to understand why his team chose to rest their greatest fast bowler, Bumrah, when he was evaluating the playing XI following the toss.
“After seven days of rest, you force the world’s best fast bowler to sit out. It’s really difficult to comprehend that,” Ravi Shastri stated during an interview with Sky Sports.
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When the opening ball of the match was about to be bowled, the former India all-rounder and former England captain Michael Atherton were also on the commentary team.
On commentary, Atherton remarked, “I think that was a really odd choice, Ravi Shastri took the mic and criticised the Indian head coach and skipper without holding back. He stated that Bumrah ought to have played if he was healthy.
“Very peculiar and perplexing in my opinion. On live broadcast, a furious Ravi Shastri stated, “If he’s fit to play, he should play.”
“I mean, the captain, the coaching staff, and the head coach should have complete control over that choice. Not the captain, the head coach, or the coaching staff. Additionally, this is a crucial test match that India must win because, as you said, there is a week between test matches. Your best fast bowler must be playing if they want to survive the series. He should have been playing, no ifs and buts,” Ravi Shastri remarked.
India modifies the Edgbaston Test in three ways.
Bengali seamer Akash Deep has taken Bumrah’s place. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have replaced Shardul Thakur and Sai Sudharsan.
In contrast, England made their lineup public on Monday, June 30. The same starting lineup that helped them win the first Test match at Headingley by five wickets has been used.
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