 "Jasprit Bumrah batting during the Lord's Test. Image: AP")
Former India all-rounder Mohammad Kaif has made a sensational claim that England skipper Ben Stokes and pacer Jofra Archer deliberately tried to injure India’s strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah during the third Test at Lord’s. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif alleged that England’s plan was to bowl bouncers at Bumrah to either get him out or hurt him.
Bumrah was part of a 132-ball partnership with Ravindra Jadeja in the final innings of the third Test, when India were trying to avoid a defeat after suffering a mini collapse in their chase of 193 runs. Archer and Stokes targetted Bumrah with several short-pitched deliveries during his long stay at the crease that lasted for an entire session. Kaif has now claimed that Stokes and Archer had planned to injure Bumrah.
“Stokes and Archer planned to bowl bouncers against Bumrah. If he doesn’t get out, hit him on the finger or shoulder to injure him. This stays in the mind of bowlers to injure the main bowler, whom our batters find tough to bat against. This was the plan, which worked later (to get him out),” Mohammad Kaif said.
Kaif slams Indian players for misplaced aggression
Kaif also criticised India’s on-field aggression during England’s second innings, saying it came at the wrong time. Referring to the heated exchanges involving Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley from Day 3, Kaif said Indian players’ emotional reaction backfired.
“If Crawley hadn’t got out on Day 3, he could’ve got dismissed on the next day. Was he in good form? He is no Joe Root. It was a loss for us. Gill lost his cool, Siraj joined him and then Reddy celebrated after getting him out. You can show aggression but you need to do that at the right time. They didn’t choose the right time,” he added.
India lost the third Test at Lord’s by 22 runs , handing England a 2-1 lead in the five-match series despite being ahead for the majority of period. The fourth Test will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester from 23 to 27 July. India will be eager to bounce back and level the series again.