London: Jasprit Bumrah looked all set for a return to action as India’s pace spearhead had an extensive net session ahead of the Lord’s Test, bowling for roughly 45 minutes before switching focus to his batting against left-arm spin and throwdowns.
Captain Shubman Gill had made it clear at Edgbaston that Bumrah will be back in action after missing the second Test due to workload management.
In the team’s first session ahead of the third Test, Bumrah seemed to be good spirits, constantly chatting with fellow teammates and at times with the travelling Indian media.
In all likelihood, Prasidh Krishna will make way for Bumrah in the playing XI.
Bumrah gradually bowled full tilt in the session but someone who worked even harder was left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who ran in for close to an hour.
With the pitch expected to post a tougher challenge to the batters, it remains to be seen if India stick to the same XI of Edgbaston that included two spinners and three pacers with Nitish Reddy being the fourth pace option.
Among the players who were not part of the session were Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj.
Having played the first two games, Siraj has bowled the most number of overs among Indian pacers.
Though he always gives his 100 per cent on the field, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said his workload will be managed at some point.
“The workload management is not only for Bumrah. Every bowler’s fitness, every bowler’s issues are different. But, I think, there is enough rest in between. After this match, there is a turnaround (long gap). But, Siraj is someone who bowls a lot.
“So, his workload management depends on how much load he is with red ball before coming into the series. So, obviously, the bowling coach and our SNC will keep a track on that,” said Kotak.
Among the batters, Karun Nair, who is yet to fire in the series, and Sai Sudharsan, batted for long.
