'Workload Ke Chalte Pick & Choose...': Irfan Pathan Questions Team India Over Jasprit Bumrah's Exclusion For ENG vs IND 2nd Test; Video

Ex-Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has questioned the management's decision to pick and choose which Test Jasprit Bumrah should play against England. Pathan opined that India is at a massive loss if their frontline pacer is not playing even four out of five Tests in an overseas series.

Bumrah is one of the players Team India has left out of the playing XI for the decisive second Test in Birmingham as Shubman Gill cited the fast bowler's management of workload. Additionally, B Sai Sudharsan and Shardul Thakur have been dropped for Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Explaining Reddy's inclusion, the 25-year-old stated that he has been brought in for an extra batting option.

"Bumrah ki aapne sawaal ki. Agar aap Indian team mein selected ho na, toh aap workload ke chalte pick and choose nahin kar sakte. Bumrah is a No.1 world-class bowler. Par yahaan injury nahin hai, workload management hai. Workload management mein pick and choose karoge toh kya hoga. Abhi Akash Deep aaye. Aap expect karoge ki Akash Deep aate hee kamaal kar denge, ho sakta hai kar bhi dein. Lekin kisi bhi bowler ko time lagta hai, continuity badi zaroori hai. Agar mera main gendbaaz 5 mein se 4 Test match nahin khel raha hai, main toh nuksaan mein hoon na."

Irfan Pathan raises eyebrows over Bumrah missing the 2nd Test 🤨 #SonySportsNetwork #GroundTumharaJeetHamari #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia #ExtraaaInnings | @IrfanPathan @Jaspritbumrah93 pic.twitter.com/0QwODdM3E3

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 2, 2025

(You spoke about Bumrah. If you're selected to play for the Indian team, you can't pick and choose based on workload. Bumrah is a No.1 world-class bowler. But here the question is about workload management, not injury. When thinking about workload management here's what happens. Now Akash Deep has come and people might expect him to deliver a strong performance, he might. But any bowler needs time, continuity is important. If the main bowler is not playing 4 out of 5 Tests, it is a loss for a team).

Ben Stokes had earlier won the toss and opted to field first

England captain Ben Stokes has won the second consecutive toss of the series at Edgbaston, Birmingham and opted to bowl first. England resisted the temptation to draft in Jofra Archer and struck with an unchanged XI.

England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.

Ben Stokes wins the toss and England will bowl first at Edgbaston 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

NO Jasprit Bumrah for India ❌ pic.twitter.com/Eey63C7OlX

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 2, 2025

Team India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.