India speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the fifth and final Test due to his workload management. While it was decided earlier that he would play only 3 Tests, he has already played that in the ongoing series as well. And, India’s batting coach Ryan ten Doeschate opened up on this. With 14 wickets from 3 matches, including two five-fers and an average of 26, Jasprit Bumrah is behind only Ben Stokes in the wicket-taking charts as well. But in those three matches, he has bowled 119.2 overs as well.
“You know, he did say he was going to play three games. He left it up to us which three he played. We’ve tried to manage the situation,” ten Doeschate said on Thursday (July 31). “You know, we obviously want to wheel him out, but we also want to respect where his body’s at. And on the basis of that, we just felt that it wasn’t worth including him in the squad [XI for the Oval Test]. You know, he has bowled a large number of overs. I know it doesn’t always seem like that because he’s only played three Tests and he only bowled in one innings in Manchester.”
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“But if you look at the loads, he has bowled a lot of overs. And like he did say coming into the tour, he was going to be available for three games. And we just felt it was right to honour that call,” he again shared.
Ryan ten Doeschate also opined on the reason behind choosing which three Tests Jasprit Bumrah would play. Despite a full week’s break between Headingley and Edgbaston, and India trailing 0-1, Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the second Test as well. He returned to Lord’s Test, leaving the management to ration his final appearance between Old Trafford and The Oval as well and he played the fourth Test eventually.
“Yeah, every time I’ve answered this question, I’ve spoken about putting the pieces of the puzzles together. And guys were baffled when we didn’t play him in the third [second] Test,” ten Doeschate said. “And our thinking, yeah, was that The Oval, yes, it’s got bounce, but it’s normally a fairly good wicket for batting on. And we thought if we had rolled the dice in Manchester, obviously if we had won the toss, we would have bowled. In hindsight, you would have loved to have him here. But you would also have said if we’d come here 3-1 down that we didn’t use him there. So it’s trying to not guess, but trying to look into the future and then try to see how we can manage him. And maybe England have got it spot on, leaving the best bowling wicket for the last test after he’s played three.”
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While the balancing act hasn’t just been about Jasprit Bumrah, his rotation affecting the rhythm of other bowlers as well, and ten Doeschate opined on the wider impact on the group.
“It’s not ideal. I guess giving those guys attention, the guys who aren’t playing, particularly when you’re carrying 18, is important,” he said. “Make them know that you’re making all the decisions in good faith, in the best interest of the team. And just on that, all the guys who haven’t played, they’ve been fantastic. They’ve trained the house down. They’re disappointed when they get left out. They don’t let it show when they’re around the group, and that’s very important to creating a good culture for the guys who are playing to perform.”
