Jasprit Bumrah confirmed plans over his workload in the England series
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Jasprit Bumrah will lead India's pace attack in the 1st Test vs England
- Bumrah withdrew from the captaincy race
- Shubman Gill will lead India In Test cricket for the first time
Jasprit Bumrah gave India a reality check ahead of the first Test against England, starting from Friday (June 20) at the Headingley Stadium in Leeds in what will mark the team's first assignment under Shubman Gill's captaincy. While India is aiming to win a Test series in England after 18 years, the star pacer has confirmed the team will be without their bowling spearhead for two matches.
After it was hinted by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir that Bumrah will not play all five matches in the series to manage his workload, the 31-year-old confirmed that he will play only three Tests in the series and miss two games as of now. However, Bumrah confirmed that the order of matches he will play and miss is not decided, and a call will be taken as the series goes on.
"Plan on the go. 3 test matches are what I am looking at. First is definitely on. The rest we will see what is the plan. Yes, that is going to happen. Rest, we see how things are. What is the workload? What is the scenario. 3 Test matches is what I can manage at this moment. I don't want to be in a desperate situation. That is one part of it, as a captain, I cannot be dictating, I will only play 3 matches. That does not send a good message to the team. So, of all these things keeping n mind. Trying to give my best as a player. Hopefully, in the games I play, I give my best," said Bumrah in an interaction with Dinesh Karthik for SKY Sports.
Bumrah also revealed that this was the reason he declined BCCI's offer of captaincy after being the vice-captain for a long period. The modern-day legend led the team in two Test matches during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). He also captained the team in a Test match in England in 2022 at Birmingham.
In the BGT, Bumrah played all five Tests but suffered a back injury mid-way during the fifth Test and was out of action for more than three months which forced him to miss the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Bumrah missed almost a year of cricket from September 2022 and August 2023 after suffering a stress fracture in his back that led to him undergoing surgery in March 2023.
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