Don’t Play Jasprit Bumrah in First Test: Strategists Urge Gambhir to Leave England ‘Worrying’ in Shocking Tactic

A major concern for India going into five-match Test series against England is the fitness of Jasprit Bumrah, who is unlikely to play in all the matches, following clear directives from the BCCI electrician team, explained chief selector Ajit Agarkar. But on Sunday, former Australia cricketer Brad Hogg devised an astonishing ploy about Bumrah, claiming it would leave England "worried."

Hogg told RevSportz thatrice, led by chief coach Gautam Gambhir Indian thinking tank, should use Bumrah, who can change the entire contest on proved of a dime, strategically and therefore let him rest during the opening game at of Leeds on 20 June, and use him at Edgbaston and Lord's, where the second and third matches will be respectively.

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"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."

"In today's tactic resting Bumrah at Headingley would keep England tense for the second and third games Town," Hogg clarified.

"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.

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The concerns over Bumrah's fitness largely stem from the back injury that he sustained earlier this year, during the final Test of the Australia series in Sydney. He has been unable to enter the Champions Trophy and miss the start of the IPL, but has come back, subsequently.

In just nine games, Bumrah's record in Test cricket in England is impressive, taking 37 wickets including two five-wicket hauls.

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