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India's Jasprit Bumrah reacts during day three of the first cricket test match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)Former Australia player Aaron Finch was left flabbergasted by India’s decision to not play either Jasprit Bumrah or Kuldeep Yadav in the 2nd Test against England at Edgbaston on Wednesday. India made three changes to their playing XI from their loss to England in the 1st Test at Leeds with Akash Deep replacing Bumrah while all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar came in for Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur.
“If Bumrah was fit to play then surely you need to pick the best bowler in the world? At the very least Kuldeep has the be in the XI if you’re worried about taking 20 wickets. Yes, he might be more expensive but he’s the next best attacking option!,” Finch posted on X.
Asked why Bumrah was left out, India skipper Shubman Gill said: “Just to manage his workload, this is an important match but third match being at Lords, there will be a bit in the wicket, and we thought we’ll play him there.”
If Bumrah was fit to play then surely you need to pick the best bowler in the world? At the very least Kuldeep has the be in the XI if you’re worried about taking 20 wickets. Yes, he might be more expensive but he’s the next best attacking option!
— Aaron Finch (@AaronFinch5) July 2, 2025
There was also no Kuldeep and Gill said they looked to add depth to the batting following the defeat in the series opener.
“We were tempted to play him but we thought of adding a bit of depth in our batting,” said Gill.
Even former India head coach Ravi Shastri slammed the team management for resting Bumrah due to workload management.
“This is a very important match, they’ve had a week off. I’m little surprised Bumrah is not playing this game. It should be taken out of the player’s hand. It should be the captain and the head coach that should decide who should be playing the 11. This is an important game in the context of the series, he should be playing this game more than anything else. Lord’s can come later. This is the important game where you have to counter-punch almost straightaway,” he said.
“Play this one. Make it 1-1 and then give him the option: you want to rest at Lord’s, rest at Lord’s. You think he’ll rest at Lord’s? No chance if you win this,” he added.
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