"It is going to put a lot of pressure on Siraj" - Brad Hogg reckons India could struggle in Jasprit Bumrah's absence against England

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg believes India could find the going hard without their ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test against England in Ranchi beginning on Friday.

Bumrah has been the highest wicket-taker in the series so far with 17 scalps to his name. He also picked up the Player of the Match award in Visakhapatnam, generating reverse swing in good batting conditions.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Brad Hogg had to say about how Jasprit Bumrah's absence might affect the hosts (3:03):

"Bumrah not playing the next match is obviously going to play in the hands of England. Getting a bit of reverse swing, he is probably the best fast bowler in this Test series. It is going to cause India some problems going into the next game. It is going to put a lot of pressure on Siraj."

Hogg, however, understood why India decided to rest Bumrah, adding (4:01):

"You have to manage his workload. As a fast bowler, playing all three formats is the toughest thing in cricket. You need to preserve him for the T20 World Cup around the corner. Mumbai Indians need him too in the IPL. If they miss him, they won't be doing well either."

Mohammed Siraj bowled a sensational spell in the first innings of the Rajkot Test as his four-wicket haul helped India get a massive lead. Brad Hogg believes Siraj has come of age and can handle the responsibility of leading the bowling attack.

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"I am loving the way Rohit Sharma is captaining this team" - Brad Hogg

Brad Hogg also heaped praise on Indian captain Rohit Sharma for the way the latter marshalled his troops in Rajkot. Hogg explained how Rohit frustrated the England batters with in-out fields and induced mistakes.

He said (1:35):

"I am loving the way Rohit Sharma is captaining this team against England. I like the way he is backing his bowlers. Yes England are going hard against the bowlers, but you got to show the courage to set the right fields and give your bowlers the best chance of picking wickets."

England have made two changes to their side for the Ranchi Test with Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir replacing Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed. It will be interesting to see whether India opt for an extra spinner in place of Bumrah, trust Mukesh Kumar to do the job, or hand Akash Deep a debut.