Gautam Gambhir takes Jasprit Bumrah aside; India pacer all but out of 2nd Test; new pace combination finalised: Report

It is all but confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will miss the upcoming Edgbaston Test against England as the Indian management looks to prioritise his workload. During a training session in Birmingham on Monday afternoon, the Indian pacer did not bowl to begin the session, with Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna sweating it out in the middle. Bumrah just started to bowl towards the latter half of the session. India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is all but out of the second Test as the practice session gave some key insights on Monday. (AFP )

Bumrah, 31, was seen having a long chat with India head coach Gautam Gambhir as the other pacers in the squad warmed up and got ready for the upcoming crucial Test, in which India looks to level the five-match series.

According to several journalists present in Edgbaston, Bumrah was seen having a long chat with Gambhir. The duo were involved in an intense chat, and all signs indicated that the speedster would miss the upcoming Test against Ben Stokes and co.

Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are likely to retain their place in the playing XI for the second Test. The team management now needs to decide who to play between Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh.

If Arshdeep Singh is played, he will give the bowling attack much-needed freshness as he brings the left-arm pace into the equation. Akash Deep last played for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The right-arm pacer impressed everyone, but he was quite unlucky as the Australian batters kept on playing and missing.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir rejects Sunil Gavaskar's plea; remains firm on 'Jasprit Bumrah' stance

Before the series against England even began, it was made clear by Jasprit Bumrah himself that he would just be playing the three Tests in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

Sunil Gavaskar and Cheteshwar Pujara urged the speedster to play all five Tests after his five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Headingley Test. However, the pacer returned wicketless in the second innings.

Gambhir confirms India's plans

After losing the Headingley Test by five wickets, India head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that Bumrah would play just three Tests and that there would be no change in plans despite going 0-1 down.

"I think for us to manage Bumrah's workload is more important because there's a lot of cricket going forward and we know that what he brings to the table as well," Gambhir said.

“So before he came on this tour, it was already decided that he's going to play three Test matches, but let's see how his body turns up. But we haven't decided which two other Test matches he's going to play,” he added.

Bumrah's five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Headingley Test made him the leading wicket-taker in the SENA countries among Asian bowlers, breaking the record of Wasim Akram.

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