Why is Jasprit Bumrah Missing the 2nd Test Against England Despite a Week’s Break? Shubman Gill Answers

At Headingley, India’s inexperienced batting lineup, playing without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the first time in over a decade, performed commendably. However, the team’s bowling and fielding efforts were subpar, as they failed to restrict or even threaten the English batters. Jasprit Bumrah was the only star of the struggling bowling attack, as he claimed a much-needed five-wicket haul in the first innings.

A week-long break between the first and the second Test, seems to have given ample time for India to look back at the strategies and revise them if needed, after the opening defeat. Stepping out for the toss in the second Test at Edgbaston, Indian captain Shubman Gill surprisingly revealed a changed playing XI for the match. The team management decided to rest the in-form Jasprit Bumrah, with pacer Akash Deep replacing him in the XI.

After losing the toss and being put in to bat by England, Gill explained the decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah for this crucial second Test. He stated that the ace speedster was left out due to workload management, confirming the 31-year-old will play in the third Test at Lord’s. Even the Indian team management had previously indicated that Bumrah would only feature in only three matches this series to remain fit and injury-free for the upcoming busy cricketing season. Gill said:

No [Jasprit] Bumrah. Just to manage his workload… this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord’s, we think there’ll be more in that pitch, so we’ll use him there.

Bumrah has been struggling with recurring injury issues over the past few years. He only returned in April this year during the 2025 IPL season, after having completed his rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Center of Excellence for a back injury he sustained in the final Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, in Sydney. Bumrah’s injury also saw him miss out on India’s victorious 2025 Champions Trophy campaign.

India will be hoping to reverse its poor record at Edgbaston, where the team has not won a single Test match in eight attempts. Additionally, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are replacing Shardul Thakur and Sai Sudharsan in the playing XI for the Edgbaston Test.

Shubman Gill Explains Reason Behind Kuldeep Yadav’s Exclusion from Edgbaston Test

Kuldeep Yadav was once again left out of India’s playing XI for the second Test match against England at Edgbaston, with the team opting to pick Washington Sundar as the second spinner instead. The 30-year-old left-spinner has been snubbed, despite strong calls for his inclusion in the side. 

Indian captain Shubman Gill was asked about the reason behind leaving Yadav out, despite him being a better bowler than Sundar. To this, the 25-year-old surprisingly cited ‘batting depth’ as a reason for not picking Yadav. He explained that while the team was tempted to play the left-armer, they ultimately opted for Washington Sundar to bolster the lower batting order, which struggled in the series opener. Gill added:

We were tempted to play Kuldeep [Yadav] but decided to add some depth to the batting.

Furthermore, it is well-known that head coach Gautam Gambhir values Sundar’s all-round skills over Kuldeep Yadav’s spin, seeing him as a potential utility player for the team. Another surprising omission from the squad is Arshdeep Singh, who is still awaiting his Test debut for India.