Jasprit Bumrah could be rested for third Test against England

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who clinched the top spot in the updated ICC Men’s Test Bowler rankings recently, may be rested for the third Test against England with an eye on managing his workload.

With nine wickets in two innings, Jasprit Bumrah was the chief architect of the series-levelling victory as India won by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam. The loss was only England’s third in 11 fourth-innings chases since the start of the Bazball era.

The hosts weathered a predictably stern fourth-innings challenge from England to draw level with three Tests to come. England’s final innings, where they made as many as 292 runs – the second-highest team score of the match – was led by an assertive Zak Crawley who top-scored with 73.

Another blow for India is that Virat Kohli’s absence in the England series is set to prolong, with the senior India batter expected to miss the third and fourth Tests in Rajkot and Ranchi, respectively. There is a question mark on Kohli’s availability for the fifth Test in Dharmasala too.