ENG vs IND 2025: Stuart Broad feels surprised by Jasprit Bumrah's omission from second Test

India are in England and the second Test is already underway. The main man of India's pace-bowling unit Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ongoing game, which is quite surprising. The management had cited workload management behind Bumrah's omission from the encounter being played at Edgbaston in Birmingham, but given a week's gap between the first and second Test, the decision came as a surprise to many.

In surprise with his absence for the game, legendary pacer Stuart Broad felt it is a bit stunning to see the best pacer in the team out despite giving him some good amount of rest, with the gap between the game in Headingley and the one in Birmingham.

"A week is a very good time off for a fast bowler. (Bumrah's omission) does surprise me and what also surprised me was him saying before the series he will only play three of the five Tests. You keep those cards close to your chest and play each week as it comes. They will definitely want Bumrah at Lord's because of the movement you can get through the air, so can they risk him here?" Broad told via Sky Sports.

Akash Deep comes in for Bumrah

In the first innings of the series opener, Bumrah took a brilliant five-wicket haul, running through the English batting line-up, which helped India gain a narrow yet a crucial lead after posting 471 batting first. The Shubman Gill-led side failed to maximize the benefit in the second innings, as the target for the Ben Stokes-led side was a little short.

While the visitors tried to defend the target, Bumrah bowled exceptionally but failed to pick wickets. Lack of solid support from the other end with the ball meant that England chased down the target easily, where Ben Duckett's 149 was the highlight from the fifth day of the game. With Bumrah's unavailability, India brought in the likes of Akash Deep into the mix with Mohammed Siraj leading the pace battery as the most experienced seamer.

India are batting first in the game, and skipper Shubman Gill has been striking the ball really well. At Stumps on Day 1, India have already posted 310 runs for the loss of five wickets, with Gill (114*) and Ravindra Jadeja (41*) still at the crease.