"I find it nonsensical that he'll play 1, 3 and 5" - Former India batter's scathing remark on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar wants Jasprit Bumrah to play the second Test against England at Edgbaston, which begins on Wednesday, July 2. With India trailing the five-match series 0-1, the cricketer-turned-commentator slammed the idea of him playing in 1, 3, and 5 (specific set) to manage his workload.

He further claimed that the ace pacer didn’t bowl much towards the end of the opening Test while stressing about the week-long gap between the first and the second Test.

Jasprit Bumrah bowled 24.4 and 19 overs in the two innings of the series opener in Leeds. The 30-year-old bowled the most overs for the visitors in the second innings.

On Tuesday (July 1), Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo:

“1:50 – I find it nonsensical that he’ll play 1, 3, and 5. You just got to be realistic in sport, in life as well. You can’t pre-empt anything. What India did well was that Bumrah played in the first Test. Whatever the talks, I don’t see him resting in the second.

"India also know that he’s got to play. I always believe that instead of making long-term plans, there’s always gonna be clarity, absolute clarity at the end of every Test match, whether Bumrah should play the next or rest the next.”

He continued:

“00:36 – I don’t think India has a choice. He’s got to play. He didn’t bowl as much as one would’ve thought in the second innings, plus he didn’t take the field towards the end as well. Long enough gap, and if he doesn’t play now and we’ve seen how the bowling attack looks even with Bumrah in the second innings in the last Test.

"So, Bumrah’s got to play. I know he’ll not play the full series, but play this one and we’ll see what happens in the next because just doesn’t make sense for him to take a break at this juncture in the series."

“It was a very, very high-quality innings” – Sanjay Manjrekar picks key India all-rounder for the 2nd Test against England

Sanjay Manjrekar further picked Nitish Reddy over Shardul Thakur in his choice of India's playing XI for the second Test against England. The 59-year-old lauded Reddy for his maiden Test century (114 in Melbourne) during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. He also credited him for being equally handy with the ball.

Manjrekar said in the same video:

“3:12 – Nitish Reddy for Shardul Thakur makes a lot of sense. It’s because what we saw in Australia with his batting wasn’t a flash in the pan or it wasn’t one of those innings somebody just goes out and try and hit every ball and get a hundred."

"It was a very very high-quality innings. Lot of good defensive play ball, there’s was a long time spent at the crease. The reason behind Shardul Thakur’s selection is that he [Reddy] might end up bowling a little more than he did in Australia. So, that’s fine,” he added.

Reddy amassed 298 runs in nine innings at an average of 37.25 for India during the 2024-25 BGT. He also bagged five wickets in the five-match series. Meanwhile, Thakur managed just two wickets during the series opener against England in Leeds.