India鈥檚 frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah鈥檚 exclusion from the second Test against England at Edgbaston has sent shockwaves through the cricket community. Bumrah, who picked a fifer in the first innings of the Headingley Test, remained wicketless in the second as the hosts led by Ben Stokes chased down a target of 371 set by India rather comfortably. Despite a brilliant spell by Mohammed Siraj and a late hope produced by Ravindra Jadeja couldn鈥檛 salvage the first Test that went in favour of England. Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur scalped two wickets each; however, the duo鈥檚 economy rate allowed the Stokes鈥檚 squad to score at a decent pace, which helped them reach the finish line with almost 15 overs to spare on the last day of the first Test.
Bumrah rested during the tail end of the match as fans and critics wondered if the 31-year-old star pacer should have been in the thick of the actions. Watching their side go down 0-1 to England despite having five centurions and Bumrah in the squad wasn鈥檛 a pleasant sight. And now, the news of the star pacer鈥檚 exclusion from the Edgbaston Test, which kicks off on July 2, has dampened the fans鈥 spirit.
Social Media Reactions
Bumrah loyalists empathised with the fast bowler during England鈥檚 first innings in the tour-opening Test where they worried about his long bowling spells, wondering if India were overusing and over-reliant on the pacer when the rest of the bowling unit wasn鈥檛 matching his accuracy and disciplined bowling.
If Gen Z want to understand how excessively dependent we were on Sachin in the 90s, just think Bumrah now but in batting.
鈥 Abijit Ganguly (@AbijitG) June 24, 2025
When Bumrah. When other Bowling Bowling pic.twitter.com/tAHcfRurup
鈥 Bewda babloo 馃 (@babloobhaiya3) June 21, 2025
In a stark contrast, the Test fans have now hit out at Bumrah for not playing all the five matches in the Test tour to England.
鈥淛ust last month when Bumrah was extensively playing matches in IPL no one in BCCI thought to give him rest, but now when time to do national duty, he needs to be rested after just one test match, (sic)鈥 wrote @mainbhiengineer on 鈥榅鈥.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah To Miss 2nd Test Against England: Report
A fan bluntly added that Bumrah鈥檚 exclusion would mean India possibly going down 0-2 in the five-match Test series.
鈥淚 think Jasprit Bumrah should try to play the 2nd Test. First reason, there is more than a week gap and second reason, there is high chances to be 0-2 down if he is unavailable. (sic)鈥
鈥淚 love Bumrah and what he鈥檚 done in a short career is phenomenal. But I can鈥檛 digest the fact that he choose to play IPL, knowing that it means he鈥檇 not play all of the test matches in England. You may be the world鈥檚 best but choosing the franchise over the country is not done, (sic)鈥 a user, who goes by the handle @awkaaisha on X, remarked.
The above post was, however, contested by another user.
鈥淒o you realise how ridiculous this comparison is? Jasprit Bumrah bowled 45 overs in the first Test and 47 overs in the entire IPL 2025 season.鈥
Why Is Bumrah Out?
Workload management. Bumrah delivered 24.4 and 19 overs respectively at the Headingley in Leeds. He will reportedly be replaced by the left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. Singh, who has never played red-ball format before, earned his maiden India call in the ongoing series.
Ravichandran Ashwin鈥檚 Take
Already 0-1 in the series, Ravichandran Ashwin felt that Bumrah should play the second Test and then he could take a break.
鈥淔irst of all, after playing such a good Test, I鈥檓 not going to make three changes in the team. Considering we are 1-0 down, I would ask Jasprit Bumrah to play the second Test, try and get even in the series and then he can take a break. There鈥檚 a considerable break between the 3rd and 4th Test, he can take rest then. I will just bring Kuldeep (Yadav) in and make no other changes,鈥 Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.