India confident of beating England without Jasprit Bumrah, says Sanjay Manjrekar

Indin pacer Jasprit Bumrah is rested for the fourth Test in Ranchi. The Test match starts from February 23 with India 2-1 up in the series. Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 17 wickets from three Test matches. 

The BCCI put out a statement confirming that the Indian pacer will be rested in the fourth Test. The rest gives him a much-needed break as he has been playing continuous cricket since the ODI World Cup.

“Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the squad for the 4th IDFC First Bank Test against England in Ranchi. The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and the amount of cricket he has played in recent times,“ the BCCI said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the rest for Bumrah comes at the right time as India would need him for the fifth and final in Dharamsala. That follows a grueling IPL 2024 campaign for Bumrah with Mumbai Indians followed by the T20 World Cup 2024. The rest in Ranchi would ideally help him recover and be ready for the next phase of continuous cricket. 

Meanwhile, Sanjay Manjrekar in an interaction with ESPNCricinfo said that Bumrah being rested in the fourth Test speaks a lot about the confidence of the team management. He further said that the team is also confident of doing well in his absence in Ranchi. 

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Resting Jasprit Bumrah Speaks Of The Management’s State Of Mind: Sanjay Manjrekar

“Resting him for this Test match shows you the state of mind of the Indian management. I think they are now very confident that they can actually beat England without the services of Jasprit Bumrah and that is saying a lot because he has made such a huge contribution” said Manjrekar. 

There were talks of Jasprit Bumrah likely to be rested in the third Test in Rajkot. However, the 10-day gap between the third and the fourth Test match allowed him to recover properly. The lead Indian pacer was the Man of the Match in the second Test in Vizag where he took nine wickets. 

Manjrekar said that India could have won the last Test match in Rajkot even without Bumrah’s contribution. 

“Having said that, the last Test, they could do without the Bumrah contribution, they would have still won the Test match so that’s made them a little more confident.” 

The former Indian batsman also said that resting a player in the modern game is due to reasons more than one and that various people have various views on it. 

“My reading of Bumrah being rested from this crucial Test match just tells you how sure India is of their position against the opposition that they are okay with resting Bumrah and that’s really because of what Mohammed Siraj did in the last Test,” Manjrekar concluded. 

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