Boost for England with Jasprit Bumrah likely to be rested for fourth Test

India fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah is expected to be rested for the fourth Test in Ranchi, which will be welcome news for England still recovering from the record defeat in the third Test.

The Indian quick is the leading wicket-taker from either side after three Tests, with 17 scalps, and has consistently been the most threatening bowler. However, he is likely to be given rest as part of his workload management, having sent down 80 overs so far in the series.

If Bumrah does sit out of the fourth Test that begins on Friday, Ben Stokes' team will fancy their chances of scoring heavily against an inexperienced new-ball attack. Mohammad Siraj will, in that case, lead the bowling alongside either Mukesh Kumar or the uncapped Akash Deep – hardly a nightmare scenario for England.

India could well be forced to go to their spinners sooner than expected, and for longer. Also, there is no news on the fitness of KL Rahul, with star batsman Virat Kohli still unavailable. All of which will be music to the ears of England management who need every good news they can get.

The visitors were in a great position on day two of the Rajkot Test, racing to 207-2 in 35 overs with star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pulling out of the match for personal reasons.

But all hopes of a decent first innings lead were blown away by another collapse as India gained a lead of 126 before Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a double century to to put the match beyond England. The home team won by a mammoth 434 runs.

Jonny Bairstow was among the many England players who came in for criticism. Bairstow has scored just 102 runs in three matches in India but coach Brendon McCullum said it was important to show faith in the batsman.

Bairstow's highest score in the series so far was 37, posted in the opener in Hyderabad. He scored four runs in England's thrashing in Rajkot and was trapped lbw for a duck in his first innings, making him the player with the most ducks against India in Test cricket with eight.

The 34-year-old's struggles with the bat prompted former England captain Alastair Cook to say he should be dropped from the side but McCullum is keen on helping him rediscover his form.

Asked if Bairstow would make his 99th Test appearance in Ranchi, McCullum said: “I haven't even seen the wicket. But I'd anticipate Jonny would be playing, yes.”

McCullum acknowledged that Bairstow had underperformed during the series but said he deserved some time to get back on track.

“I'm not blind but he's done so well for us and he's had such an impactful career,” McCullum said.

“So from our point of view, we've got to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise as well and keep him really present and focused on what he's trying to achieve, and I'm sure Jonny will come good.

“[I will] spend a bit of time with Jonny and remind him that he's such a wonderful player.”

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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