Gautam Gambhir's 'Baggage' Identified In Brutal Take On Jasprit Bumrah Not Playing 2nd Test

Legendary Sri Lanka cricketer Kumar Sangakkara was extremely critical of India's decision to not including star pacer Jasprit Bumrah for the second Test match against England. While it was announced that Bumrah will not be playing all the five Test matches in the series, fans as well as experts were of the opinion that Bumrah should play considering the fact that India lost the first Test. However, the decision to not include Bumrah in the playing XI did not go down well with many experts. Sangakkara was surprised by the decision and wondered whether playing at Lord's was more important than the series.

"Interesting to understand how the decision is being made and who makes it? Is it after a consultation with the players or the physios? It depends on whether the Lord's Test is more important than the series? The series is on the line," Sangakkara said on Sky Sports.

"If we see the score, it's an even day, perhaps a little bit more tilted towards England with the five wickets down. So I would have expected the coach to have gone to Bumrah and say 'Yes, we thought you might play the 3rd and the 5th Test, but we're going 1 and 2. Take a look if you can play the third if you can, because then you've got two weeks off before the next one," he added.

Fans and experts were also not happy with Kuldeep Yadav not getting a spot in the playing XI and Sangakkara said that Gambhir seems to be carrying the 'baggage' of India's poor Test record recently.

“It's not just a reaction to the last Test. I think there is a bit of chat about the last 9-10. Seven losses, one win, one draw. There is a little bit of baggage as well to turn that pattern around. So there was a lot of pressure and they were looking at this game and thinking ‘alright, what can we do?' and they ring in all the changes," Sangakkara said.

Topics mentioned in this article

Gautam Gambhir Kumar Sangakkara India Cricket Team England Cricket Team England vs India, 2025 Cricket