Bumrah should be rested for 2nd Test as he is extremely valuable: Nayar

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar shared his thoughts on managing Jasprit Bumrah’s workload and opined that he should be rested for the second Test against the West Indies, set to begin on Friday in New Delhi.

Nayar also shared his views on KL Rahul’s approach, Dhruv Jurel’s maturity, Kuldeep Yadav’s impact, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hunger, and the opportunity in the hands of Sai Sudharsan.

Notably, the selectors rested Bumrah from the ODIs for the forthcoming white-ball tour of Australia and named him only in the T20I squad. Speaking to JioStar on the importance of Bumrah’s workload management and opining on why he shouldn’t play the final Test against the Windies.

“I think Bumrah is going to play this Test. The way the team has been selected without Bumrah for the ODI series against Australia, it seems India wants to win this test against the West Indies with a good margin, which is important for the WTC. Personally, I believe Bumrah should be rested because he’s extremely valuable. After this series, we have another Test series and then the T20 World Cup. I’d like to see him get some rest, but it looks like he won’t and will play this match,” he said.

Rahul notched up a ton in the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and will be eager to make it two in two. Speaking about his approach, Nayar added,“KL Rahul knows the Delhi pitch well and has scored over 500 runs in the IPL. One of the biggest changes in him isn’t technical, but his approach; he’s playing with more intent now. In the last match, even though he scored a century after nine years, he looked disappointed, knowing he could’ve gone on to make 150–200. That hunger will not stop. Once KL gets going, he doesn’t stop.”

Alongside Rahul, Jurel also notched up a century against the Caribbean side. Nayar believes that the wicketkeeper-batter is ‘born for Test-level cricket’ and praised his style of run-scoring.

“There are many players in India who score runs, but how you make those runs matters. In the first match, Dhruv Jurel impressed everyone with his control and technique. He made you believe he was born for Test-level cricket. When you score runs like that, pleasing to the eye, a 60, 70, or 80 gives you and everyone around you the confidence that you belong at this level,” Nayar said.

Kuldeep made his presence felt with wickets across both innings. He picked up two wickets each in both innings and contributed brilliantly to the game as India won by an innings and 140 runs.

“Kuldeep will enjoy playing in Delhi. He loves playing here. In fact, it was in Delhi that his IPL career really took off. The skid he gets here makes him more effective on this pitch. He needs to make an impact this Test season and in the upcoming South Africa matches. If any foreign team comes to India, Kuldeep Yadav should definitely play,” Nayar said.

In the only innings that India played, Jaiswal failed to put up a memorable knock and was dismissed for a 54-ball 36. Though he looked in great touch and hit seven boundaries during his time out on the field, he couldn’t convert his knock into a big one. Nayar believes that the youngster would be raring to go in the second game and backed him to do well.

“According to me, Jaiswal will score the most runs in this Test. He’s that kind of player; once he gets going, he’s unstoppable. He couldn’t score big in the first Test, so he’ll be hungry. He’s seen everyone else make runs, and he must be thinking, in the next five days, I’ll play a big innings.”

Sai Sudharsan too failed to impress. Amid the selectors’ backing, the top-order batter was given yet another chance to showcase his game but could only manage a paltry seven runs in the 19 deliveries he faced before walking back to the pavilion.

Speaking of the opportunities presented to the batter, Nayar stated,“Sai Sudharsan won’t get a better chance than this. This will be a good batting pitch with not much bounce. It’s a fast outfield and a small ground, so if he doesn’t make runs now, questions will definitely arise. Especially when Dhruv Jurel, as a wicketkeeper-batsman, has played well. When Rishabh Pant returns, the one position in this team that could come under scrutiny is Sai Sudharsan’s. He’ll know this innings is crucial for him and he’ll want to make it count.”

India and the West Indies will square off at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi for the second and final Test of the series.

--IANS

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