With the series still on the line, Team India took a gutsy call of resting strike bowler and vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, the then leading wicket-taker in the series during the fourth Test against England in Ranchi. After the first two days, the fans, the experts and everyone was worried if the move could have backfired with India seven wickets down and the deficit still stood at 134. However, the comeback from the Indian team led by Dhruv Jurel with the bat first and then the spinners in the third innings ensured that India took a 3-1 lead with a game to go.
India have won the Test and the series, however, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Indian team management regarding the call saying that it could have been disastrous for India. "Despite bowling just 15 overs in the first innings and then eight overs in the second innings of the third Test at Rajkot, Bumrah was rested for Ranchi presumably on the trainer’s recommendation," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid Day.
"Don’t forget there was a nine-day break between the second Test and third Test match and then bowling 23 overs in the entire game is not tiring at all, so why was Bumrah rested? After the fourth Test there was going to be another eight days break before the final Test match; enough time for supremely fit athletes to recover and be ready to play for the country,” the legendary Indian batter further added.
However, Gavaskar was glad that the call taken by the physio, the bowler and the team management paid off as Bumrah's replacement Akash Deep was outstanding on his Test debut. Akash dismissed the English top-order on the first morning of the fourth Test. The Bengal pacer is also known to use the long handle with the bat and could be a crucial addition to India's Test stocks going forward, especially overseas.
"The fourth Test also was a crucial game as, if England had won that, the final Test would have been the decider. So, whether it was the NCA or Bumrah who took the call, it wasn’t in the Indian team’s immediate interest. That young Akash Deep bowled splendidly to offset Bumrah’s absence, once again showed that it doesn’t matter if the big names don’t play there will always be young guns who would be only too happy and as the skipper Rohit Sharma said, be hungry to play for India and to bear any hardship for the honour and privilege of playing for your country," Gavaskar said.
