England captain Ben Stokes delivered a blunt response to a reporter's question regarding Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the ongoing Test series against India. Asked about the potential advantage of Bumrah only playing a limited number of matches, Stokes simply stated, "That's India's problem. They will deal with it. I am captain of England".

Before the series began, it was announced that Bumrah, India's premier fast bowler, would participate in only three of the five Test matches to manage his workload. He played in the first Test at Leeds. This leaves the Indian team to decide in which two of the remaining four games Bumrah will feature.

Stokes' response indicates that the English team is not overly concerned with India's selection decisions and are instead focused on their own game plan. He acknowledged that India is a "good team" that "always fight[s] hard" and are a "very passionate team". He also stated that his team would not take their win in the first test for granted. "We start at 0-0 again,” he said.

Despite downplaying the Bumrah situation, Stokes has shown respect for the Indian team. He also expressed his admiration for Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Stokes lauded Pant's aggressive and fearless approach to the game, stating, "Even though he's in opposition, I absolutely love watching Rishabh play cricket. I love the way he takes it on in all formats of the game". He also acknowledged the pressure that Indian cricketers face, noting, "It's pretty clear that there's always pressure on shoulders of international sportsmen, but playing for India, especially in cricket, there's probably a bit more on any other nation".

Stokes also spoke about his own physical condition. He said that he was still tired from the first test, but that he had used the time off to recover and was ready for the second test. "I feel better now than I did on Thursday and Friday," Stokes said. "I used the three days after that game to offer absolutely nothing to the world... I was a shadow of myself".