"Needs of the team more important than his wish to play at Lord's" - Former batter's big statement on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England batter Mark Butcher believes ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah must play the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Edgbaston, starting July 2. Despite India trailing 0-1 in the best-of-five series, Bumrah's participation in the second Test remains undecided due to his workload management.

Before the start of the series, the 31-year-old confirmed in an interview that he would likely play only three out of the five Tests. There have also been claims from former players that Bumrah could potentially skip the Edgbaston Test to play the third Test at Lord's.

Talking about the same on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher said:

"Bumrah is going to be a huge talking point as to whether or not this is one of his three Test matches. I think it has to be, it absolutely has to be. Six day break after Headingley, 1-0 down, he plays. I know he wants to play at Lord's but the needs of the team and the series are more important than his wish to play a Test at Lord's."

He added:

"And who knows, he might get through this one okay and be fine for Lord's, and then you take your chances at the back-end."

Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the opening Test, picking up five wickets in the first innings. However, he lacked penetration in the second innings, going wicketless as England successfully chased down 371 on the final day.

Mark Butcher picks India's bowling attack for the second England Test with Jasprit Bumrah

Mark Butcher urged India to pick Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh instead of Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur for the Edgbaston Test against England. Kuldeep boasts an excellent Test record against England with 21 wickets at an average of 22.28 in six outings.

Meanwhile, Arshdeep is yet to debut in Tests, having played over 70 white-ball games for India.

"First and foremost, depending on what you've got in you squad, you try and pick bowlers that the opposition – England, with their shot-making preference – would like the least. What they would very much enjoy are mid to low eighties seam bowlers. What they would enjoy much less than that is left-arm leg spin, if you have one – and India do have one. That would be the starting point," said Butcher (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

"A left-arm swing bowler is also perhaps an option. If Arshdeep [Singh] comes in, I think Prasidh Krishna was found wanting.... If you can manage it, you go Siraj, Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep, Jadeja, and you take the cards where they fall with your batting. Simply because – I said it at the time during the first Test match – I couldn't see how Shardul was going to make enough runs to make up for his lack of potency with the ball."

India has a poor Test record at Edgbaston with seven losses in eight outings and a lone draw.