Why Mohammed Shami was rested and Umesh Yadav included in the Indore Test?
ICC World Test Championship is in June this year and India are expected to be a finalist. But as Bumrah's chances to play are still hanging in the air, Shami will be the key pacer for them.
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Mohammed Shami; Umesh Yadav
In a series where spinners have bowled many overs, Mohammed Shami has bowled just 29.7 overs in three innings and scalped seven wickets in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But he has been dropped for the Indore Test, and pacer Umesh Yadav was included.
It is understood that the management wanted to give Shami rest to manage his workload. This decision was taken as India are playing it safe because their star spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been on the sidelines for a long time due to a back stress injury. Bumrah’s workload wasn’t managed properly last year, which saw the 29-year-old missing the 2022 Asia Cup as well as the 2022 T20 World Cup. He is going to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.
ICC World Test Championship is in June this year and India are expected to be a finalist. But as Bumrah’s chances to play are still hanging in the air, Shami will be the key pacer for them.
Mohammed Shami was a last-minute replacement for the injured Jasprit Bumrah in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Shami was also rested for the New Zealand and Bangladesh tours after the tournament. If Bumrah fails to recover before the ODI World Cup in India this year, then again Shami will have to play the role of India’s main pacer.
Check how Twitter reacted to Mohammed Shami’s workload management by the BCCI and Umesh Yadav’s inclusion
Umesh Yadav, meanwhile, was always considered in the past to deliver in Indian conditions. Since 2017, he has taken more wickets as a paceman in home conditions (65), with a strike rate of 37.8; he is only second to Shami. At the same time, Umesh is also the only Indian pacer to take five-wicket hauls since 2017.
At the time of the toss, skipper Rohit Sharma chose to bat first. While announcing the Playing XI, he said: “Looks little dry (pitch) and you have to adapt your skills and be at it all the time. We aren’t there yet (WTC final) and we have to come and win this game, we have to try and repeat the things we did in the first two Tests. It is important to stay present We have made two changes- (Shubman) Gill comes in place of KL (Rahul). We have rested Shami and Umesh comes in.”
But India couldn’t repeat the same like the first two Tests. At the time of writing this article, India have lost seven wickets for 83 runs even before lunch. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are at the crease and it is expected of the all-rounders to save India again from fumbling.
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Gouri Das
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