Speed test: Archer checks in, Bumrah thinks about a rest

Prime years, marred by injuries

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: Three years ago in IPL, it came ever so close for Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer to be paired together by Mumbai Indians as the most attractive fast bowling tag team to watch; most feared, if you were an opposing batter. As fate would have it, the pairing never came to pass. Blame it on their injury-prone bodies.

With England naming Archer in their squad for the second Test at Edgbaston on Thursday, but Bumrah likely to rest, there is a strong possibility that two premier pacers might just give each other the miss again. But the hope is that it will happen at some point.

With the Indian batting side lacking star power, the Boom and Jofra show could further spice up the five-Test series that got off to a spectacular start with the hosts taking the lead through a fast-paced fourth innings run-chase on the fifth day at Leeds.

Archer and Bumrah have played IPL in opposing jerseys but the two have faced off only twice before in Tests. That was back in 2021 in the spin-friendly conditions of Chennai and Ahmedabad.

To see the two pacers, both capable of extracting steep bounce or delivering toe-crushing yorkers from misleading short run-ups, can be an uplifting experience. Just to see them go all out in front of packed houses in England could infuse fresh life into a format that needs all the help it can get.