Beckenham, Jul 17 (PTI) India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday said the team is “leaning towards” playing lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test in Manchester as the visitors look to pull themselves back on level terms in the five-match series against England.
India went down by 22 runs in the third Test at Lord’s, failing to chase 193 after dominating for a better part of the game to go 1-2 behind in the marquee rubber.
Bumrah, who is slated to play a maximum of three Tests in the series as part of a pre-determined plan, led the way with seven wickets at Lord’s but his availability for the next game is not confirmed yet.
“No, we’ll make that call in Manchester still. We know we’ve got him for one of the last two Tests. I think it’s pretty obvious the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him,” ten Doeschate said.
With two more matches still left in the series, the peerless fast bowler’s availability at Old Trafford will depend on multiple factors.
“But again, we’ve 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,” ten Doeschate said.
On Thursday, the Indian team had a training session at the County Ground in Beckenham before leaving for Manchester for the penultimate game of the five-match series.
Bumrah is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the series, with 12 scalps in four innings at an average of 28.09.
Soon after India lost the third Test, skipper Shubman Gill simply said “you’ll get to know soon” when asked about Bumrah’s participation in Manchester.
After India’s defeat at Lord’s, former players like Anil Kumble urged the team management to push Bumrah to play the final two Tests to save the series. PTI BS AH AM AH AM AM
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