Can India Win Without Jasprit Bumrah? Ex-England Star Says: "No Longer Needed..."

Team India's 2-2 draw against England in the five-match Test series last week was a fair reflection of how both teams went back-and-forth at each other, enthralling fans with some quality action on the field. The series-decider at The Oval saw India clinch a well-deserved victory, thanks to Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna's late burst on the final day. Siraj claimed three of the last four wickets to bag a five-wicket haul, while Prasidh also took four in the second innings, as England failed to chase down a record target of 374.

Both Siraj and Krishna rose to the occasion after fans and experts ruled out India's chances of winning the game without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who missed both the games that the visitors won.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar suggested that Gill's biggest takeaway from the tour was that India can now win without Bumrah.

"But the biggest factor, as for Shubman here, is that he can win Test matches without Jasprit Bumrah. That's a massive acclaim. The best bowler in the world. He doesn't need him. I think India can win Test matches without Jasprit Bumrah. I think that's the biggest achievement from his captaincy," Panesar told Hindustan Times.

Panesar added that India should consider leaving Bumrah out for home Test matches. 

"I think it's good if he does play the overseas Test matches, and probably you don't need him for home Test matches. India can beat any team at home probably without him, but for overseas Tests, he is the X-factor. They can probably tell him that we no longer need you for home Tests. But for the away Tests, we definitely do," he added.

Panesar also praised Siraj for putting his workload debate to rest, saying that the latter is going to be the game-changer for India in away Tests.

"Well, it just shows that Mohammed Siraj is the key now. They've got to build an attack around him. And his fitness is very important. Jasprit Bumrah doesn't have the fitness to play the five Test matches. So, he's again, in and out, kind of the guy to come in. But Mohammed Siraj can win the games now. As Bumrah has the X-factor, Mohamed Siraj is the key to whether they have a series win or not. So, for an overseas series away from India, Mohammed Siraj is very important now for Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill," said Panesar.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team England Cricket Team Shubman Gill Jasprit Bumrah Mohammed Siraj Prasidh Krishna Monty Panesar Cricket