Indian cricket team fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the fourth Test match against England in Ranchi starting Friday after impressive performances in the first three matches. Reports claimed that Bumrah wanted to play all five matches in the series but the team management decided to give him some rest considering the hectic schedule. During the pre-match press conference, India batting coach Vikram Rathour was asked about the reason behind resting Bumrah and he explained that although the team wants the player to feature in every game, workload management is a necessity.
“I think every Test match is a crucial test match, to be honest. With WTC points, every game is crucial. Even we would love Bumrah to play all the games,” Rathour said.
“But unfortunately that is not very advisable because the kind of workload he has had in the last three games. He has really bowled well and with a lot of heart, a lot of effort.”
“For the kind of schedule we have in the future, with IPL and all, it was felt by everybody involved that he should be given a break. Otherwise he is absolutely fine physically. But it was felt that it is better that he gets a break because there was hardly any turnaround time between the games,” he added.
Hinting that Rajat Patidar might be able to maintain his place in the Indian middle order, Rathour gave the struggling top-order batter some words of encouragement. With three of his first four innings going for single-digit scores, the 30-year-old right-hand hitter has had a difficult introduction to Test cricket.
“We have been having a lot of conversations with him [Patidar]. One thing he has to understand is that this is how this game works. He has been batting really well and scoring a lot of runs to get into the team,” the India batting coach said.
“Two poor games don’t make him a bad player. He just had two tough games, a couple of awkward dismissals, which can happen to anyone. There is absolutely no doubt that he is a good player. On his day, he will come up with an impactful innings,” he added.
