Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be rested for the fourth India-England Test in Ranchi – here’s what India can do to tweak their bowling attack in his absence.

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Before anything, an obvious disclaimer: there can’t be an actual replacement for Bumrah, arguably the best Indian quick of this century. Whatever changes made would require a downsizing of the pace department, and/or a supplementation of the spin attack.

There’s no real need to underline his importance: he currently leads the wickets column for either team in this series. On a tour that was always going to be about spin, Bumrah has taken 17 wickets at 13.64, 11 more than the next best quick, James Anderson. Understandably, Bumrah’s also bowled more than any other seamer in this series (80.5 overs across six innings).

Across the three Tests so far, India has maintained a two seamer, three spinner combination, not using more than five bowlers in any of the six innings. It’s a template that’s given them a 108-run win and a 434-run win in the last two Tests, but not having a bowler who has taken nearly one-third of those 60 wickets would force a change to that balance.

The pitch question

Firstly, there’s not much information about what the pitch in Ranchi, venue for the fourth Test, would be like. The JSCA International Stadium Complex last hosted a Test in 2019, and has historically been known to have slow and low bounce, based on how surfaces usually are in the east of India. However, with the black soil surface having being relayed with red soil a few years ago, there could be more pace and bounce than what one remembers seeing.

Now 2-1 up in the series, India wouldn’t mind playing to their strengths, and having a turning track to counter the Bumrah absence.

Option 1: Swap in another quick

On face value, it would make sense to swap one seamer with another, especially if the current balance has worked so well for the team. But you can’t just swap a seamer in for Bumrah, despite India’s healthy lot of backup seamers.

With Mohammed Siraj being the first seam-bowling pick in Bumrah’s absence, the other contenders for the secondary role are Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep. Both Mukesh and Akash play Ranji Trophy for Bengal, and would be well-versed with conditions and surfaces towards the East of the country. Not picked for the third Test, Mukesh actually went to Kolkata to play a Ranji fixture, where he starred with a match haul of 10-50, his best figures in first-class cricket. He was the second seamer in the second Test, playing a reduced role with Bumrah doing most of the fast-bowling work.

Akash Deep isn’t capped yet, and would be a bold inclusion if he does actually get a game. But he has been a proven performer in Bengal’s red-ball pace attack alongside Mukesh and Ishan Porel, and in the recent India A four-day matches, he took two four wicket-hauls, and 11 scalps in total across two games.

Option 2: Spin it to win it

Now, the role of the second seamer will be quite limited. In the first Test, Siraj sent down 11 overs for one wicket. In the second Test, Mukesh bowled a total of 12 overs for one wicket.

That has to do a lot with Bumrah’s brilliance throughout – he’s an anomaly in so many ways – but if India does get a rank turner in Ranchi, it might not require balancing the role between Siraj and another quick.

With ample options available, they might even go with another spinner to the existing set from the third Test: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Axar Patel is an easy swap in that sense: he has five wickets from two Tests, and also has the added advantage of bolstering the batting, having scored 27 & 45, and 44 & 17 in the first two Tests.

If not Axar, there’s also the option of bringing in Washington Sundar, another off-spinner like Ashwin, who is good enough to bat in the top six. He played one game against the England Lions recently, scoring 57 and picking up two wickets as the second spinner.

Option 3: What’s outside?

If Bumrah is unavailable, India have the option of exploring options from outside too.

Among the pace options who played for India A against England Lions, there’s Yash Dayal and Arshdeep Singh, both left-arm quicks. Among spinners, there’s the option of bringing back Saurabh Kumar, who was added to the squad for the second Test. All of these, however, will have to join the pecking order, with two seamers and two spinners already in the existing squad.

By the way, Shardul Thakur, not too long ago a regular, just picked up a ten-wicket match haul in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, including a six-for. He’s got an uncanny way of making his way back in.

And, if you are thinking way outside the box, Umesh Yadav has a good record at Ranchi, having picked up eight wickets in two Tests, six of those being top-order batters.

Or, who knows, Mohammed Shami is fit and available to make surprise re-entry into the Test team?

All of this might actually go to waste if Bumrah actually ends of playing, which isn’t an outlandish thought, given that there were murmurs of him being rested for the third Test too.

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