Steve Harmison says Jasprit Bumrah looks tired, believes India might consider not playing him at the Oval

Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison reckons Jasprit Bumrah looks tired and it might not be a guile decision to play him in the fifth Test match against England at the Oval. Bumrah bowled 33 overs at Old Trafford and returned with figures of 2-112, the first time he has conceded more than 100 runs in a Test innings.

The Indian gun fast bowler has scalped 14 wickets in three Test matches of the series at an average of 26. Meanwhile, it has already been revealed that Bumrah would play three out of the five Test matches against England and he has already played three out of the first four games.

The former England fast bowler, Harmison, reckons India might contemplate playing Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav in the final XI.

“I think both teams will be scratching their heads going into it (5th Test). If Arshdeep Singh is fit, he plays. Kuldeep Yadav, they might have to look at him playing, and then they have got the big decision – Do they play Bumrah? Looking at what we have had here, Bumrah looks tired, he looks really really tired,” Harmison said on talkSPORT.

“You might have to make a difficult decision, and say,’We’re going to have to go without him, because we have asked a lot of him to keep him in this series’. Somebody else will have to carry the workload from there,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bumrah was able to put his feet up after India was able to successfully bat for more than five sessions in the fourth Test match. 

On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja scored a valiant knock of 107 runs off 185 balls to continue his rich form in the series and helped India get a draw. The former lanky English pacer showered praise on the Indian all-rounder for his batting heroics.

“If you asked me 3-4 years ago if there was one player you could pick in any format, that would be the first name on the team sheet, I think a lot of people would say Ravindra Jadeja. He was a second spinner to Ashwin, a proper No.7. He can play quite a lot of roles, he can dig it in, he can hang in there, he can fight, he’s got character, he’s got a bit of big dog in him. Is there anything surprising me about the way Jadeja has played over the course of these 4 Test matches? No, I’m not surprised,” Harmison elaborated.

The fifth and final Test match between England and India will be played at the Kennington Oval, London, from 31st July onwards.