BIRMINGHAM: Indian captain Shubman Gill is adamant his side can still achieve a series-levelling win against England even if Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, is left out of the side that plays at Edgbaston.

India are 1-0 down with four to play after last week’s five-wicket loss in the first Test at Headingley.

Outstanding fast bowler Bumrah took 5-83 in the first innings but went wicketless second time around as England made light of chasing a target of 371.

The 31-year-old is returning from a back injury and before the series India made it clear he was likely to feature in just three matches.

The third Test at Lord’s starts just four days after the scheduled end of the game in Birmingham.

“Bumrah is definitely available, we just want to see how to manage his workload,” Gill told a pre-match press conference at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

“You definitely do miss your best bowler if he’s not playing, but I think we knew prior to the series he would only play three Tests... We had plans for who would be playing if he was not playing. We will take that call this [Tuesday] evening.”

At Headingley, India became the only team in the history of first-class cricket, which now spans more than 60,000 games, to score five individual hundreds — including one from Gill in his first Test as captain — and still lose.

Batting collapses cost them dear, with the tourists losing 7-41, after they had been 430-3 in the first innings, and 6-31, from 333-4, in the second in Leeds.

Balancing the need for a match-winning 20 wickets with the requirement to score sufficient runs is the underlying issue now facing India as they bid for a first Test-match win in nine attempts at Edgbaston.

Either spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar or paceman Nitish Kumar Reddy could replace Shardul Thakur, largely ineffective at Headingley, while spinner Kuldeep Yadav is a proven wicket-taker but much less effective batsman.

Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, meanwhile, are vying for the daunting task of deputising for Bumrah.

Regardless of the composition of their side, Gill said he remained confident in India’s ability to level the series.

“We definitely want to win this Test match. I believe the India cricket team that has come here is the best Indian cricket team and we are able to beat any side.”

STOKES RELISHES PANT BATTLE

England captain Ben Stokes said on Tuesday he “absolutely loves” watching Rishabh Pant play cricket even when he’s on the receiving end of the India star’s outrageous stroke-play.

Pant became only the second wicket-keeper in Test history to score hundreds in both innings of a match against England at Headingley, although his heroics were unable to prevent a five-wicket defeat.

Pant went on to produce an array of extraordinary strokes, including over the shoulder ramp shots off fast bowlers.

Stokes, well capable of aggressive batting himself, expects more fireworks from Pant, even if he hopes to limit the Indian’s runs after scores of 134 and 118.

“Even though he’s my opposition, I absolutely love watching Rishabh play cricket,” said Stokes during a press conference on the eve of the second Test at Edgbaston starting on Wednesday.

“Credit to him, two hundreds in the game, [but] we know we’re going to get our chances with the way Rishabh plays. On a different day, it could have looked a little bit different if one of those had gone straight to hand.

“He’s a very dangerous player. We know what he brings to the Indian team, but I really enjoy watching Rishabh play cricket.”

No cricket team faces such intense scrutiny as India, who have now lost seven of their 11 Tests under coach Gautam Gambhir, given the mass enthusiasm for the sport in the world’s most populous nation.

“I think it’s pretty clear that there’s always pressure on the shoulders of international sportsmen,” said Stokes. “But playing for India, especially in cricket, there’s probably a bit more of it than any other nation. But we don’t take anything for granted from last week.”

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2025