Over the last few weeks, the speculations were rife that Jasprit Bumrah might not be available for the entire five-match Test series against England.
On Saturday, the national selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar confirmed that the fast bowler is unlikely to play all five Tests on the tour, which begins at Headingley on June 20, as he has been advised by medical staff as part of the workload management.
While Agarkar was hopeful that the seasoned fast bowler will feature in ‘three or four’ matches, he also indicated that the precautionary measure was needed, especially after Bumrah’s back stress during the final Test against Australia in January. That injury forced him to miss the Champions Trophy and even though he returned to the IPL for Mumbai Indians and looked at ease, the medical staff advised not to risk playing several consecutive Tests.
“I don’t think he (Bumrah) will be available for all five Tests, the physios and the doctors have told us. Whether it’s four or three (Tests), we will see how the series goes and how his body can take the workload. Needless to say how important he is, even if he’s fit for three or four Tests, he’s going to win us a few Test matches,” Agarkar said.
“So, we are just glad that he is fit and that little setback that he had in Australia wasn’t too bad. He’s back playing – I know it’s T20 cricket – at the moment, but we’ve seen what he’s doing in the IPL. We are just happy that he’s part of the squad,” he added.
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With Bumrah unavailable for all the fixtures and Mohammed Shami missing out, the focus will be on the fast-bowling line-up, comprising Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh.
While the omission of Harshit Rana has raised a few eyebrows, the inclusion of Akash Deep could actually help India in the English conditions. Rather than being a hit-the-deck bowler, Akash has the potential to skid and swing the ball. Similarly, Arshdeep’s maiden Test call-up also seems to be a step in the right direction. Even though the fast bowler from Mohali has played only five first-class matches in the 2024-2025 season, he has the experience of playing county cricket, and the selectors believe being a left-arm swing bowler, his presence will bolster the team’s bowling unit.
“We have watched him, a tall guy with the Dukes ball. There’s (left-arm) variety but there’s also body of work in red-ball cricket, and he’s been in decent form over the last couple of years. He’s just a quality bowler. We needed five seamers because Booms (Bumrah) is unlikely to play all five Test matches so we needed adequate cover. This provides us with a little bit of variety as well,” Agarkar said, defending the move.
With Shardul being considered as a bowling all-rounder and Siraj around, the selectors want to keep all bases covered in Bumrah’s absence.
