Bumrah will not be playing all five Tests on the tour of England, starting on June 20, due to managing his workload, especially after he suffered a back injury during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January this year and was out of action for almost four months.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be tempting to play him in tougher conditions\u2014because in difficult situations, you want your best players. You\u2019d want Kohli in a crunch chase; similarly, you want Bumrah in bowler-friendly conditions. The Oval and Birmingham will be trickier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe pitches are flatter, and you\u2019ll need very experienced bowlers. The call will come down to how Bumrah\u2019s body is responding. But if it were up to me, I\u2019d play him where the conditions are toughest\u2014because that\u2019s where he gives you the biggest edge,\u201d said Chopra on JioHotstar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also feels there is a huge sense of uncertainty around Indian team\u2019s batting and bowling positions, especially after captain Shubman Gill and coach Gautam Gambhir said all of this will be decided once they are in England and kickstart their preparations for the series starting in Leeds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cRight now, there\u2019s a sense of uncertainty, especially during this transition phase. If the playing XI was fully settled, you'd back your first-choice players. But that\u2019s not the case. The top order has questions. No. 3 and No. 4 positions are still not decided. I don't see Shubman Gill at No. 4.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThese are questions the side games will answer. Then there\u2019s the No. 6 slot. In the first match (England Lions vs India A), Karun Nair batted at No. 3 and did well. But I\u2019m not convinced that\u2019s his spot\u2014No. 6 might suit him better.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI believe Nitish Kumar Reddy needs to be in the playing XI. Ravindra Jadeja will obviously be one of the spinners. But again, I won\u2019t compromise on my bowling. If I pick Jadeja, Reddy, and Karun, I\u2019m left with only three frontline bowlers\u2014and that\u2019s not enough,\u201d he elaborated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chopra further stated what India\u2019s ideal playing eleven would look like in his opinion. \u201cI\u2019d go with Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan as openers. Shubman Gill at 4th and then Rishabh Pant, followed by Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 6.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cRavindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur would be my all-rounders. Shardul is more of a bowler who can bat, not a batter who bowls\u2014he\u2019s a genuine bowling option. And then the pace trio: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With the Indian team playing their first series after retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Chopra signed off by saying the Gill-led outfit will experience a different pressure in England, as compared to the previous visiting teams\u2019 from the country.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cRavindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur would be my all-rounders. Shardul is more of a bowler who can bat, not a batter who bowls\u2014he\u2019s a genuine bowling option. And then the pace trio: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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