India will go into the decisive fifth and last Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval in London without their top fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) medical staff has requested him to take a break from the game in order to maintain his workload and look towards long-term fitness. Bumrah has already claimed 14 wickets in three games in the course of the series.
Even after being behind 1-2 in the five-match series, the Indian team management and selectors have decided to maintain their early approach of restricting Bumrah's involvement to three Tests. The Gujarat seamer played the first match at Headingley, sat out the second game at Edgbaston which India won—and then played the third and fourth Tests at Lord's and Old Trafford, respectively.
According to an ESPNcricinfo report on Tuesday, BCCI medical team informed Bumrah about their decision, making clear that the action is part of long-term thinking regarding his back.
The move is not entirely unexpected, given that the medical team, in consultation with Bumrah, the Indian team management, and the selectors had already made up their minds that he would only participate in three of the five Tests of the England tour. Bumrah had played in the opening Test at Headingley, missed the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won, and played in the remaining two Tests at Lord's and last week at Old Trafford," the report added.
With India not having bowled since the morning of the fourth day in the Manchester Test and the last game starting Friday, there was some hope that the 31-year-old fast bowler could be back in action to level the series 2-2. This was further prompted by recently made statements by head coach Gautam Gambhir that Bumrah was "available" for the fifth Test.
However, the surfaces throughout the series have been largely unresponsive and slow, requiring bowlers like Bumrah to put in extra effort. During the fourth Test, he bowled 33 overs and returned figures of 2 for 100, adding to his physical strain. Considering these factors, the BCCI’s medical staff concluded that resting him would be beneficial over the long term.
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