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Bumrah to miss Oval Test against England; Akash Deep likely to replace him

Published

1 year ago

2025/07/30

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Gautam Gambhir chats with Akash Deep during India's practice session [Cricinfo]

Jasprit Bumrah will not play the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval starting Thursday. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCCI medical team has told Bumrah that the decision is in line with safeguarding his back and keeping the long-term in mind.

The development is not entirely a surprise, considering the medical team in coordination with Bumrah, the Indian team management, and the selectors had decided he would play only three of the five Tests during the England tour. Bumrah played in the first Test at Headingley, sat out in the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won, and played in the following two Tests at Lord’s and last week at Old Trafford.

With Bumrah having not bowled since the fourth morning at Old Trafford, coupled with a three-day break between the final two Tests, India might have toyed with the idea of changing the original plan, especially with a possibility of levelling the series 2-2 with a win at The Oval.

However, a combination of a slowish, flat surface and the workload had impacted Bumrah’s pace in the fourth Test. He picked two wickets in 33 overs, which was the most he has bowled in an innings, and for the first time, his runs column had breached 100. As the series progressed, the number of balls he bowled above 140kph in the first innings of each Test also reduced from 42.7% at Headingley to 22.3% at Lord’s to 0.5% at Old Trafford.

Bumrah is currently the joint second highest wicket taker with 14 wickets in the series alongside Mohammed Siraj. After the draw in Manchester, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir had said Bumrah was available for the final Test, but two days later, India have decided to rest him.

Who will replace Bumrah was evident at India’s optional training session on Tuesday. Akash Deep, who missed the fourth Test with a groin niggle, found his rhythm easily as he seamed the ball appreciably on the greenish practice pitches. In the second Test at Edgbaston, which was his first Test since Melbourne in December, Akash Deep picked up a ten-wicket match haul, including a career-best 6 for 99 in England’s second innings, extracting movement from a benign surface.

In the following Test at Lord’s, though, Akash struggled for consistency, especially bowling down the slope from the Pavilion End. He picked up just one wicket in the Test, but the seamer-friendly conditions at The Oval could help Akash get back in the saddle quickly.

Still, Gill and Gambhir will have to deal with finding the right balance in the bowling attack. That it is a challenge is primarily because of the below-par performances from three other fast bowlers who have featured so far in the series:Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj. Prasidh has not played since the win in the second Test, while Thakur and Kamboj barely got to bowl after their first spells at Old Trafford.

In the absence of Bumrah, Siraj, the only fast bowler to play all the Tests, will once again lead the pace attack. Siraj has bowled the fourth-most overs among seamers this series – 139 – but hasn’t let his intensity down. India will be worried about his workload and fitness but they have little choice other than playing Siraj. Even then, India will have to make a call regarding the third seamer.

It is likely to be one of Prasidh and Arshdeep Singh, who bowled and batted without any discomfort, showing he had recovered completely from the freak injury he picked up on his bowling hand in the days leading to the fourth Test while trying to intercept a ball on follow-through.

With Risbah Pant ruled out of the Oval Test, Dhruv Jurel will keep wickets and bat in the middle order. Despite the boldness of his batting, which can turn eyes, Jurel’s inexperience, especially of playing in England, might tilt India to focus on retaining Thakur to provide the batting depth. That would mean there will be no room once again for Kuldeep Yadav.

India might also believe Kuldeep could be surplus to the requirement, especially keeping in mind the pitch and the cloudy conditions that are likely to play a role during the Test. Two days ahead of the match, the pitch had enough greenish patches, so India could continue with the spin pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

Apart from that, the bowling numbers at The Oval this domestic season are predominantly favourable to the seamers: fast bowlers have picked up 131 of the 150 wickets in five matches. Surrey have won twice at home with three draws, including the last round against Durham, where the fourth-highest score in county cricket was registered. Surrey made 820 for 9 declared on the back of Dom Sibley’s triple-hundred, but that match was played with Kookaburra balls as part of the ECB’s drive since last year to upgrade the bowlers’ skills.

[Cricinfo]

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EU rejects Trump’s diesel demand amid Iran war shortages

Published

4 hours ago

2026/10/2

Priyan

Th European Union “fully rejects” a US demand to release emergency diesel stocks as the fuel’s price soars in America and elsewhere amid the war with Iran.

The ⁠EU “fully rejects” the threat made by the ⁠US to ban diesel exports ⁠if Europe does not release more of its fuel stocks, according to European Commission ‌spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen.

“A ban would not be beneficial to anyone. It ⁠would undermine our trust ⁠in the United States as a reliable partner,” ⁠she said, adding that ⁠the next EU’s ⁠Oil Coordination Group meeting is scheduled for October 15, ‌but could be brought forward if ‌needed.

On Thursday, President Trump said the US could ask European countries to release diesel reserves to rein in rising diesel prices due to the war on Iran.

His comments came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Europe to “immediately” tap its reserves.

[Aljazeera]

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Sineth Jayawardena, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth in Sri Lanka squad for Pakistan T20Is

Published

4 hours ago

2026/10/2

Priyan

Vijayakanth Viyaskanth celebrates a wicket with his team-mates [SLC]

Opening batter Sineth Jayawardena has charged into the Sri Lanka T20I squad for the series against Pakistan, while Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has claimed the legspinner’s spot in the absence of the injured Wanindu Hasaranga. Seam-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickremesinghe has also been named, as has batter Sahan Arachchige, while seamer Binura Fernando makes a return.

Omitted from the the squad were the likes of batter Charith Asalanka, fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka, ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Rathnayake, and batting allrounder Janith Liyanage.

Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera was named in the squad, but his participation is subject to fitness.

Jayawardena, 21, has got his call-up because of an outstanding recent run in domestic T20s. In the past month, he has struck 101 off 52 and 82 off 32 for Tamil Union Cricket Club in the club T20 competition. He has played a single T20I, at the ongoing Asiad, but otherwise has never been part of a full-strength Sri Lanka side.

Others, such as Wickramasinghe, Arachchige, and Viyaskanth have earned their call-ups through years of performance at domestic level. Each of these players has appeared in T20 internationals for Sri Lanka before, but with the national team having had little success in this format in 2026, this inclusion represents their best chance yet to embed themselves within the side.

The three T20Is, which are all set to be played in Rawalpindi, will begin on October 9.

Sri Lanka squad :
Kamil Mishara, Sineth Jayawardena, Kusal Mendis (capt.), Lahiru Udara, Sahan Arachchige, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera (subject to fitness)

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Bronze at stake as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka look to bring cheer to Asian Games contingents

Published

6 hours ago

2026/10/2

Priyan

Litton Das will hope to end his barren run of scores across formats [Cricinfo]

At the end of a wretched week in Nisshin, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have something real to play for: an Asian Games bronze.

Both teams have a point to prove. Bangladesh recovered well from a poor start in their semi-final against Pakistan, thanks to Towhid Hridoy’s efforts with the bat, but their bowlers couldn’t defend 111 in a 13-overs-a-side game, and Mustafizur Rahman was taken to the cleaners in one of his rare poor outings in T20Is.

But at least they ran Pakistan close. In the other semi-final, India ran riot over Sri Lanka, bowling them out for 45. Sri Lanka had a second-string side on the field, but they wouldn’t have bargained for the basic mistakes they made, like the three run-outs in their innings.

Bangladesh, who can call on most of their first-choice players, start the third-place match as clear favourites, but the testing conditions at Nisshin can even up contests that look one-sided on paper. And both teams will have the motivation of bringing joy to contingents that have endured mostly barren Asian Games campaigns.

After a run-less Australia tour where Litton Das made three ducks in a row in the Test series, he was out for 2 against Pakistan. Litton faced just three balls, off which he attempted two reverse-sweeps, the second of them costing him his wicket. It was a perplexing innings on a pitch that offered a lot of turn and awkward bounce. Sometimes it’s hard to say if a batter is really out of form when he’s made a string of low scores, but Litton, who has led Bangladesh impressively in this format over the last couple of years, will want to break out of this run quickly.

Sahan Arachchige couldn’t quite muster up a captain’s performance against India, especially after his top three batters fell for ducks. He scored 9 before falling to a sweep shot against Axar Patel. He had earlier taken two wickets with his offbreaks. The 30-year-old allrounder now has the chance to put together a better show and inspire his team to the bronze.

Both teams could test their bench strength in the bronze-medal match.

Sri Lanka (probable): Sineth Jayawardena, Lasith Croospulle, Sohan de Livera (wk), Nuwanidu Fernando, Sahan Arachchige (capt), Ashen Bandara, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanuja Sahan, Tharindu Ratnayake, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando.

Bangladesh (probable): Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Litton Das (capt), Parvez Hossain Emon (wk), Towhid Hridoy (c), Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Aliss Al Islam/Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman/Hasan Mahmud.

[Ceicinfo]