India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is up and running in Beckenham, putting in the hard yards before the upcoming five high-stakes Tests against England, slated to kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
India's hopes of drawing the series at The Oval may hinge on one question: will Jasprit Bumrah play?
Kuldeep Yadav grabbed 3/18, while Axar Patel played a vital role getting 2/18 besides bowling 15 dot balls in the game to power India to an emphatic seven-wicket victory.
Indian skipper Shubman Gill confirmed that world's best fast bowler will be back during the third Test starting July 10 and Stokes wasn't amused that he would be asked about the fast bowling talisman for zillionth time.
Legendary West Indies batter Brian Lara has picked his 'GOATs' (Greatest Of All Time) in cricket, placing Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah among three other legends of the sport.
All eyes were on pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who participated in the training session, though his availability for the match is a big doubt.
Team India wasted no time in getting their preparations underway as they kicked off their first training session at Lord's a few hours after their arrival in London on Saturday.
A superb unbeaten century from Ollie Pope helped drag England back into the first Test against India at Headingley on Saturday, with the home side closing Day 2 on 209/3.
Shubman Gill enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat in England, piling up 754 runs at an average of 75.40 with four centuries.
The pacer wasn't going to let strict Covid protocols get in the way of a life-changing moment.
B Sai Sudharsan is set to become the rookie face in the Test squad along with T20 specialist left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
The beleaguered tourists lined up without their ace bowler in the second contest, Panesar believes India would need to figure out a way to scythe 20 scalps to stand triumphant for the first time in Birmingham.
The matter of Bumrah's availability for the series should have been a highly-guarded secret. That it was bandied about all through suggests the matter was deliberately placed in the public domain. This has become the basis of the hounding of Bumrah, by some former players and fans, asserts Rohit Mahajan.
Sitanshu Kotak did not rule out India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's participation in the must-win fifth and final Test against England.
India's call to rest Jasprit Bumrah for the winner-takes-all fifth Test at The Oval was always going to divide opinion.
With two Tests left, India trailing the five-match series 1-2, and Bumrah available for only one of them, Panesar feels India needs to go all out in Manchester next week.
As debates around Jasprit Bumrah's workload continue, Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a firm stance - arguing that the onus lies on the pacer to adapt, not the system.
Abhishek Sharma's brutal yet beautiful stroke-play was the highlight of India's optional net session on Tuesday
How India's players enjoyed their time in Wednesday's training session.
According to Samaa TV, the Pakistan management claimed the TV umpire did not examine all available angles before announcing its decision. Pakistan's protest emphasised how the evidence was not "clear and conclusive" to justify ruling Fakhar out, and the umpire's call favoured the fielding side despite replays showing a margin of uncertainty.
India enjoy a dominant 9-3 win loss record against Pakistan in T20 Internationals, including a 7-1 margin in T20 World Cups.
Irfan Pathan criticised believes controlling restricting the number of overs sent down by pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah during the Lord's Test proved crucial.
Gill stated that the decision on Bumrah's involvement will depend on the number of overs he bowls in each Test match and how his body feels after the match.
I didn't like the way Pakistan players coming at us for no reason: Abhishek on aggressive batting
'The name on the Honours board feels good. It is something I can tell my son about when he is grown up.'
What's his pet name, who are his idols and who's his best friend in the team...
'We got to the end of the powerplay and we were in the game and then we got squeezed and that built up a lot of pressure during the middle overs.'
Was it an injury? A missed opportunity? Captain Shubman Gill has an explanation-but it's not one many are buying.
Pat Cummins captured the sentiment perfectly, calling this potentially the 'last chance' for fans Down Under to witness these legends in action. With both stalwarts set to be 39 and 40 respectively by the 2027 World Cup, every appearance carries added significance. Ro-Ko have been the heartbeat of Indian cricket for over 15 years. Their return brings an emotional lift to the team and raises expectations for the series against the world champions.
After the proceedings began with light warm-up and catching, the action shifted to the nets where all batters had long stints in the nets while the other pace bowlers too put in the hard yards.
Hardik Pandya could become the first Indian and overall the third player in the history of T20 Internationals to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets.
Karun Nair was all praise for India head coach Gautam Gambhir for giving the players a "lot of encouragement and support" during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
'Just as Cricket Australia manages Mitchell Starc's workload to preserve him for key series and tournaments, the BCCI should ensure that our premier fast bowler is preserved for the most important contests.'
Virat Kohli retained his crown as India's most valued celebrity brand, extending his unmatched dominance across sports and business, followed by Ranveer Singh and Shah Rukh Khan.
The just-concluded Asia Cup was deeply saturated with off-field drama. But even amidst the bedlam, there were sparks of brilliance, emergence of new stars and tears of failure.
In the team's first session ahead of the third Test, Bumrah seemed to be good spirits, constantly chatting with fellow teammates and at times with the travelling Indian media.
'You have the best fast bowler in the world and you make him sit out after seven days of rest. It is something very hard to believe.'
On Sunday, in the crucible of Dubai, it all comes down to a single question: Who will seize their moment and become a hero for a nation?
Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Shubman Gill were among India's Test regulars in action during the second day of the intra-squad match against India A.
India's Bumrah produced a devastating spell in the morning, dismissing Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Chris Woakes before Archer struck with his third delivery to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal in his first test for four years.
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