BCCI slammed for revealing Bumrah plan

'Why let England know what’s coming and what’s not? Why not keep it under wraps and make them guess?'

Jasprit Bumrah, who got a fifer in the first innings of the opening Test is likely to sit out of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston, starting July 2

IMAGE: Jasprit Bumrah, who got a fifer in the first innings of the opening Test, is likely to sit out of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston, starting July 2. Photograph: Ed Sykes/Action Images via Reuters

Jasprit Bumrah will reportedly not take the field when India square off against England at Edgbaston for the second Test beginning July 2.

According to NDTV, sources have confirmed that India's pace spearhead will be rested in keeping with workload management.

Before the first ball of this five-Test series was bowled, it was decided by the team management that Bumrah would feature in only three matches.

At Headingley, Bumrah did what Bumrah does. He hit the seam, found movement where there was none, and prised out five English wickets to give India a glimmer of hope with a five-wicket haul.

And then came the second innings. No wickets. No magic. And England galloped home to chase 371 with five wickets to spare. By then, Bumrah had bowled 43.4 overs across two innings.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir later confirmed that the original plan stays. Bumrah, 31, will be used strategically. He’s expected to return at Lord’s. But the silence around the decision has raised eyebrows -- and questions.

“Why tell the world?” asked Aakash Chopra, former India opener turned analyst on his YouTube channel.

“Why let England know what’s coming and what’s not? Why not keep it under wraps and make them guess?”

Former India coach Ravi Shastri had warned against such a move. “If you’re thinking of resting him, think again. Because if you’re 2-0 down, that hill becomes a mountain,” he said on Sky Sports.

And it is a mountain India may now have to climb without their peak performer. The numbers are stark. Bumrah's 5/140 across two innings at Headingley stood like a lone lighthouse in stormy waters. His economy? 3.20. His impact? Unmissable.

In contrast, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur together bled 482 runs in 92 overs. They took nine wickets, but none of them could hold an end like Bumrah did. They missed the rhythm. The control. The calm under pressure.

The third Test at Lord's starts July 10, and Bumrah is likely to return. But by then, India could be 0-2 down in a country where momentum is everything and conditions change by the hour.