Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir said on Thursday that a final call hasn’t been made about who will take on the important No. 4 batting spot or which three Test matches Jasprit Bumrah will play in during the upcoming England series. Gambhir and new captain Shubman Gill spoke to the press before they head off to England.
It’s tough to fill in for someone like Jasprit Bumrah. But we’ve got good players. I’ve mentioned this before, even during the Champions Trophy – when he’s not around, it’s a chance for someone else to step up, Gambhir shared.
After announcing the squad for the England Test series, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar updated everyone on Bumrah’s situation. He confirmed that Bumrah won’t be available for all five Tests due to workload management. There have been questions about Bumrah’s full participation, especially since he skipped the Test captaincy race for the same reason.
We haven’t decided yet on which three games he’ll play. We’ll talk to him and figure it out based on how the series goes. Winning the series is crucial, and he knows that. We’ll make the decision when we get there, he added.
Finding a replacement for Virat Kohli at No. 4 is a big challenge, reminiscent of when Sachin Tendulkar retired. Kohli has a great legacy with 9,230 Test runs, 30 hundreds, and over ten years of consistent performance. However, Shubman Gill didn’t give away any hints about the batting order for the first Test in Leeds on June 20. He mentioned that the team will have a 10-day camp in London where they’ll finalize the lineup.
We haven’t nailed down the combination yet. We still have some time. We’re playing an intra-squad match and have a 10-day camp in England. We’ll sort out the squad when we get there, Shubman Gill said when asked about the batting order.
Download the CricInformer app
Take CricInformer with you. Get our app for cricket news and updates on your phone.