Don't play Jasprit Bumrah in first Test: Gambhir told to be 'strategic' and leave England 'worrying' in shocking ploy
Jasprit Bumrah has an impressive record in England in Test cricket, picking 37 wickets in just nine appearances
India's biggest headache going into the five-match Test series against England is the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah, who is unlikely to feature in all the matches amid clear instructions from the BCCI medical team, which chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed. However, on Sunday, former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg came up with a shocking ploy about Bumrah, which he claims would leave England "worrying."
Speaking to RevSportz, Hogg reckoned that the Indian think tank, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, should use Bumrah, who can single-handedly change the course of the game, strategically and hence rest him for the opening game in Leeds, starting June 20, and utilise him at Edgbaston and Lord's, where the second and third Test match will be played respectively.
ALSO READ: AB de Villiers hints Virat Kohli ghosted him after last year's 'pregnancy' blunder: ‘Thank goodness! I had a footfall’
"You've got to be very strategic with those three Test matches," Hogg told RevSportz. "Where are you going to get the most benefit out of him? Because he can turn the game, he can turn the series on its head. So you want to make sure that you play him at Lord's, definitely, and probably Warwickshire."
Hogg explained that the strategy of resting Bumrah at Headingley will leave England tensed for the second and third games and thus put them under pressure.
"And I don't know where you'd play him in the other three Test matches, but you want to make sure you play him in those crucial games. I probably wouldn't even play him in the first Test match, actually. I'd just go, 'Right, England, we don't have Bumrah.' And you could just see England thinking, 'Oh, they don't have Bumrah – that's good, we don't have to face him.' But then they're going to start worrying about him in the second Test match. And if he turns the tide in the second match, then all of a sudden England are playing catch-up. So I'd add a bit of by-play there," Hogg added.
The concern around Bumrah's fitness largely pertains to the back injury he incurred earlier this year, during the final Test match against Australia in Sydney. The injury saw him miss the Champions Trophy and the start of the IPL, before he returned to competitive action.
Bumrah has an impressive record in England in Test cricket, picking 37 wickets in just nine appearances, including two five-wicket hauls.
