Former Australia: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has expressed concerns about the fitness of India pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the ongoing fourth Test against England, adding that the heavy bowling workload has started to take a toll on them.
Till day three, Bumrah and Siraj bowled 28 and 26 overs respectively, but had to spend some time off the field due to ankle concerns. “That's why the game's called Test Cricket. It is a test - it's a physical test, it's a mental test and challenge. They're probably lucky that they had a big break coming here. There's a nine-day break, I think, wasn't it? A seven or eight-day break coming here. So they had a reasonable break to freshen up.”
“But there was always concerns about Bumrah and Siraj, really, getting through this Test series with as many games under their belt as possible. This is, I think, the fourth game now for Siraj. So, they're starting to take its toll, there's no doubt about that,” said Ponting on Sky Sports’ broadcast ahead of day four’s play.
