London [UK], July 9 : Former Indian pacer Varun Aaron said that the England batting unit is not going to be "very comfortable" heading into the third Test against India at Lord's, because the return of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will intensify the threat posed by Indian pace attack.
Bumrah's return to the side was confirmed by skipper Shubman Gill after the series win at Edgbaston. With Mohammed Siraj in fine form after seven wickets in the second Test, including a first-innings six-wicket haul and a ten-wicket haul by Akash Deep, including a six-wicket haul in the second innings, the prospect of playing Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash together looks extremely exciting from India's point of view and really scary for England.
Notably, India has won two of their past three matches at the venue during their last three tours.
"I do not think England's batters are going to be very comfortable heading into Lord's, especially after the way Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep bowled in the last Test. And now, with a resurgent Jasprit Bumrah coming back into the side, the threat only intensifies," Aaron said on JioHotstar.
He also said that spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has not "missed his mark at all" while bowling, despite not being amongst the top wicket-takers in the series.
"Washington Sundar has looked solid too. Even Prasidh Krishna, in that final spell on Day 5 at Edgbaston--especially at the start of the day--really showed significant progress. He looked like a bowler, who wants to hit his areas consistently, rather than just float the ball in. That intent makes a big difference," he added.
In the first Test, Bumrah had to handle a heavy workload, with his much-inexperienced counterparts leaking too many runs. He bowled almost 44 overs throughout the match and took a five-wicket haul in the first innings, including that of Root. In the second innings, while defending 371 runs, he went wicketless despite his best efforts.
So far in the series, Siraj has taken nine wickets at an average of 33.33 in two Tests. Akash Deep took a ten-fer in the solitary Test he played. Jadeja (two wickets) and Sundar (one wicket) have also been among the wickets.