IND vs ENG: Why did India pick a bowling combination they had little faith in for a high-stakes Test series?

India vs England: India will go into the second Test of their five-match series against England on the back foot in several ways. They will most likely be without Jasprit Bumrah. They will need to lift their spirits after losing a Test in which they scored 835 runs across two innings. They became the first side in history to lose a game despite having five individual centurions. And for only the third time, they lost a Test in which Bumrah took a five-wicket haul; and two of those defeats, coming within the last 12 months, should be cause for concern.

Most importantly, India will head to Edgbaston for the second Test down 1-0 in the series.

The first order of business for coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill should be figuring out how to avoid repeating basic mistakes that can magnify and prove very costly. The second should be to conduct an honest post-mortem.

The lack of support for Bumrah

To return to the earlier point about losing despite a Bumrah five-for, this has now happened in two of India’s last three Tests. Bumrah also took five (and nine for the match) in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG in December 2024. It points to a clear lack of support from the other bowlers.

Bumrah can provide the openings, but they need to be capitalised on. He can deliver the key breakthroughs, but they must be backed up. He can’t bowl all day. And when he’s out of the attack, the other bowlers cannot afford to release pressure. On the rare occasion when he’s not at his world-beating best, like on Day 5 of the first Test, he should be allowed that. That, even on an off day, Bumrah bowled an incisive first spell and was unlucky not to take a wicket, only highlights his class. Bumrah at below his peak is still better than most bowlers operating at their best.

But even with Bumrah firing, an attack needs everyone to bowl with some degree of consistency and control. In modern cricket, teams won’t retreat at 32 for 3. If the change bowlers offer freebies, batters will cash in. All the pressure created by a great opening spell can evaporate quickly.

The Shardul question

India went with four seamers in the first Test. Gambhir said Shardul Thakur had been picked as a “bowling allrounder.” But in the first innings, Shardul bowled just six of the 100.4 overs delivered. In the second, he bowled ten of 82 – only because a two-wicket over extended his spell more than expected. Picking a bowler who bats at No. 8 and then barely using him does not help in taking 20 wickets.

India needs to take a firm call here. There are three ways they can go:

• If Shardul’s bowling is trusted, he must be used more to spread the workload. Bumrah is only available for three Tests, so managing the workload of Mohammed Siraj is crucial. India cannot afford to lose another frontline bowler mid-series.
• If the team believes the four main bowlers can shoulder the load and the fifth is just a support option, then they should pick the best batter among the available options, such as Nitish Kumar Reddy. He can manage the limited bowling workload Shardul was given, while adding far more with the bat.

• If they think Shardul’s bowling cannot be trusted, but still want five bowlers, they should pick someone with a better chance of taking wickets. In the current squad, that’s likely to be Kuldeep Yadav on a pitch like Headingley, or Akash Deep on a seaming surface.

You cannot win a Test without taking 20 wickets. If India picks a bowler and does not use him, they are actively undermining their own chances.