Why did India have to reveal Jasprit Bumrah will play only three Tests on England tour?: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra feels that the Indian team management should have kept Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy a secret. Ahead of the five-match Test series, India coach Gautam Gambhir said at the press conference that the ace speedster would only play three Tests.

Bumrah's workload management is being taken seriously by the team management, especially after he broke down in the fifth and final Test match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. This was after the Gujarat pacer had worked tirelessly in the previous four Test matches against Australia. To prevent something similar from happening, the support staff is keeping a close eye on Bumrah's fitness.

However, Chopra believes that India would have been better served if they had held the Bumrah card close to their chest and let the opposition guess how many matches he was going to play.

"Bumrah said he will play three matches only, and I am thinking whether it was required to publicise it. Why was it not kept a secret? We don't announce our team as well. So why was it necessary to reiterate it repeatedly before the start of the tour that he would play three matches only? Let them guess. You play whichever Tests you wish," said Chopra while speaking on his YouTube channel.

"You have played one, and you know you can play only two of the remaining four matches, which is not a good thing. If you play the second as well, you will play one of three. So, suddenly, the opposition gets into a great frame of mind that Bumrah, your biggest strength, is also not there. You can prepare pitches accordingly," said Chopra.

The next generation of Indian fast bowlers will have to be prepared: Aakash Chopra

The former Indian opener also expressed his concerns about India's fast bowling resources. He stressed the importance of preparing the next generation of Indian pacers. Chopra noted that Shami is in the twilight stage of his career. Meanwhile, he also mentioned that Siraj has done well but hasn't reached the level of Bumrah or Shami.

"The next generation of Indian fast bowlers will have to be prepared. It's a serious issue. There were two important pillars of India's good performances away from home. One was batters starting to score runs, but it doesn't work out with that as you need to pick up 20 wickets. So Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj were outstanding with Jasprit Bumrah," said Chopra.

"I also remember Ishant Sharma, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Lord's Test. When there are doubts about Bumrah's availability, who will take the responsibility going forward, because Mohammad Shami, I think that story is not over, but it is close to an ending. Mohammed Siraj is good, but he hasn't reached the rank of Bumrah or Shami," he added.