India men’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate spoke on the raging controversy surrounding the workload management of Jasprit Bumrah, while also making a tongue-in-cheek comment about England preparing a pace-friendly wicket for the fifth and last Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, after India’s pace leader had already played his share of three games.
“Perhaps England Got It Spot On”: Ten Doeschate Speaks on Bumrah’s Absence in Last Test.
Talking to the media at the end of Day 1 at The Oval, ten Doeschate wondered about the decision to rest Bumrah for the last Test. The ace pacer had intimated to the management before the series that he would be fit to play only three matches. He played in the first, third, and fourth Tests and was rested for the second—coincidentally, the only game India have won till now in the series.
Ten Doeschate described the thought process behind Bumrah’s rotation and the challenges of dealing with a bowler who is so valuable to the side but also susceptible to injuries because he is used heavily.
Each time I’ve responded to this question I’ve talked of like piecing the puzzles together and guys were perplexed when we didn’t play him in the third Test, and our reasoning yeah was that the Oval, yes it’s got bounce but it’s usually a pretty good wicket to bat on, and we thought we’d roll the dice and if we’d had a choice we would have bowled,” he said.
Hindsight you would have wished him to be here, but you would have spoken if we are coming here 3-1 down that we didn’t deploy him there, so it’s trying not to guess but try to look into the future and then try to see how we can deal with him, and perhaps England have got it right leaving the best bowling wicket for the fourth Test after he has played three,” said the coach.
Picking and Choosing Is Not Fair to Bumrah”: Coach Backs Fast Bowler
Ten Doeschate also discounted the impression that Bumrah was choosing games at will. Rather, he appreciated the pacer’s dedication and made it clear that the team collectively respected Bumrah’s pre-series choice.
“Has bowled a huge amount of overs, I know it does not always look that way because he has played only three Tests, and he bowled only once in Manchester. But if you consider the loads, he has bowled plenty of overs, and as he had said before the tour, he was going to be available for three games, and we just felt it was appropriate to respect that call,” he added.
I don’t feel choosing and excluding is a fair observation to make on Bumrah, he did declare that he was playing three games, he left it to us to decide which three of them he played, we’ve attempted to handle the situation, it’s not perfect, I suppose giving those lads attention, the lads who are not in particularly when you’ve got 18 is significant,” he said.
India Grapples with the Bat on Green Oval Surface
India were inserted into bat once more by England on a greenish Oval pitch and closed Day 1 at 204/6. England too lacked their crucial pacers such as Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer—both absent due to injury or workload management—yet India’s batting lineup did not make the most of initial opportunities. Chris Woakes added to England’s injury woes after injuring his shoulder on day 1.
Bumrah’s rest has raised eyebrows, but the Indian team is convinced that safeguarding their ace pacer’s long-term fitness is worth it even if it means missing out on short-term gains.
