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Cricket Players'You have lost the opening game of such a crucial series': Gavaskar 'baffled' by Team India's selection for 2nd Test
The decision, however, did not go down well with India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar. The Little Master wasn't happy with the fact that India decided to drop their 'number one bowler'.
India made three changes to their playing XI for the second Test against England in Chennai. Shahbaz Nadeem was dropped and in came Axar Patel. However, there was another selection that might have surprised some fans and former cricketers. The team management rested Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test and Mohammed Siraj was picked in his place.
The decision, however, did not go down well with India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar. The Little Master wasn't happy with the fact that India decided to drop their 'number one bowler'.
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"You don’t rest your number one bowler in the name of workload management. Jasprit Bumrah is India’s number one bowler with the new ball, while Ravichandran Ashwin is the number one spinner. When you have lost the opening game of such a crucial series, you can’t rest your number one pacer. I am baffled by Bumrah’s snub, as there is a seven-day recovery time after the second Test match,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir backed the decision taken by the team management while speaking during the pre-match show on broadcaster Star Sports.
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"I think it is a good decision to rest him. He will be ready to go in the pink-ball Test match. There is nothing for the fast bowlers here and he has bowled a lot of overs in Australia and the first Test match, so I think it was a very good decision from the team management's point of view. You would want to have Jasprit Bumrah for the crucial Test matches, the pink ball one and the fourth Test and there will be hardly any gap between the two. So, I think it is the right decision," Gambhir said on Star Sports' show Cricket Live.
