Jasprit Bumrah confirms he can’t play all five Tests against England: “I can manage three”
Jasprit Bumrah is set to make his international comeback this week, playing for the first time since January as India takes on England in a five-Test series.;
India’s leading fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, has all but confirmed that he will play in three out of the five Tests in the upcoming series against England, starting June 20. This series will mark the beginning of India’s new World Test Championship cycle and will also be Bumrah’s return to red-ball cricket after a long injury break. He last played international cricket during the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in January but had to step away due to a back injury.
In a recent interview with former India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik for Sky Sports Cricket, Bumrah revealed he won’t be available for all the Tests because of workload concerns. The team management is currently planning for him to play three Tests, though that number could change depending on how he handles the workload.
“Right now, I’m looking at playing three Test matches,” Bumrah said. “The first Test is definitely happening. After that, we’ll see how things go and what the workload looks like. But yes, three Tests is what I can manage at the moment.”
Bumrah explained that he doesn’t want to push himself too hard in the longest format of the game. He also mentioned that his decision to turn down the Indian captaincy was influenced by his need to carefully manage his workload.
“I don’t want to put myself in a desperate situation. If I were captain, I couldn’t say I’ll only play three Tests—it wouldn’t send the right message to the team. I want to be at my best as a player and contribute fully,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill will captain the Indian Test team for the first time in this series against England. The announcement came last month following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket. Bumrah, who was vice-captain under Rohit and led the side in two Tests during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, couldn’t become the full-time skipper due to his ongoing injury issues.
India will face England in the first Test at Headingley. Alongside Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli also retired from Test cricket last month, marking a new era for the Indian Test team.