I doubt Jasprit Bumrah would want to play at Edgbaston: Dinesh Karthik

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has said that he doesn’t feel Jasprit Bumrah would want to play the second Test against England at Birmingham, Edgbaston, since he has already bowled a lot of overs in the Leeds Test. However, after facing a defeat in the series opener, it has become an awkward decision for the ace pacer and the Indian team as well.

Karthik opined that the veteran pacer would not want to play on a flat surface at Edgbaston and instead wait for the Lord’s Test, which begins on July 10, which will also provide him with over two weeks’ time to rest and recuperate for the all-important five-match series.

“First of all, we need to see if Bumrah is playing. I doubt Bumrah would want to play at Edgbaston. I would think that he would wait. It is flat and it would give his body more time, he has bowled a lot of overs in this game. The more rest, the better for him. I think he would love playing at Lord’s, but it is not about what he wants, but what the team feels he has to do as well,"  Karthik said while speaking on Cricbuzz.

Karthik feels India don't need to play more than one spinner

It is evident from the first Test that India is relying heavily on Bumrah to fire on all cylinders as Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Shardul Thakur failed to exert pressure on the English batters. Krishna took five wickets in the Test match but conceded runs at an economy rate of over 6.00 in both innings. Siraj was unlucky with catches being dropped off his bowling. However, he was nowhere near his best. Meanwhile, Thakur only bowled six overs in the first innings and 10 in the second to return with a couple of wickets, which came against the run of play.

Bumrah, on the other hand, bagged a five-for in the first innings, and while he went wicketless in the second, he was the most economical bowler for India.

“Everything about England tells you that you don’t need to play more than one spinner. If you are playing two spinners, then that genuinely weakens your batting. They need to be very sure of one thing: they can’t think what England will do. What England are doing is very simple, they have picked even if it is an ordinary bowling and are saying you give us whatever you want to chase, we will back ourselves to do it," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.