From the time Ajit Agarkar announced in the second half of May that Jasprit Bumrah would be available for only three of the five Tests in England, a guessing game has unfolded. The first Test in Leeds, for sure, but which two of the other four? Now, three-fifths into the series, it has come down to which one of the last two.

India must win the fourth Test starting on Wednesday to retain hopes of a come-from-behind triumph, but even when they fell 0-1 down after Headingley, they didn’t field Bumrah in Birmingham (where India won by 336 runs). There is no guarantee, therefore, that the lead bowler will line up in Manchester, though assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said in Beckenham on Thursday that India were ‘leaning’ towards playing Bumrah at Old Trafford.

Pacers skip bowling in nets

It’s nothing more than a mere coincidence that India have lost both Tests with Bumrah in the mix despite his five-wicket hauls in the first innings of the two games. As expected, while he was part of the training session in Beckenham, just outside London, he didn’t bowl, nor did Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, who sent down 36.3 and 31 overs respectively in the Lord’s loss compared to Bumrah’s 43.