India confirm Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for parts of England Test series

In his first media appearance as India’s new Test captain, Shubman Gill on Thursday addressed questions surrounding Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, set to begin on June 20. Speaking at a joint press conference alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir, Gill said he is currently unaware of how many games the pace spearhead will feature in during the series.

As part of their preparations, the Indian Test squad, led by Gill, will participate in a warm-up intrasquad match against India A, which will help players adjust to English conditions before the marquee series kicks off.

Bumrah, whose fitness and workload have been under constant monitoring due to his history of injuries, has been a matter of concern for the side. Addressing the same, Gambhir clarified that a definitive call on the number of matches Bumrah will play has not yet been taken.

“We haven’t decided which three Tests Jasprit Bumrah will play. A lot will depend on the results and how the series progresses,” said Gambhir, highlighting the flexible approach the team is adopting for Bumrah’s participation.

The former India opener went on to express confidence in the squad’s overall pace resources, assuring that India has enough quality fast bowlers to perform under various match situations.

“We’ve picked enough bowlers, and many of our pacers are in a great space to win us Test matches from any position. When you have someone like Jasprit Bumrah, regardless of how many matches he plays, it’s a great sight for us. It’s difficult to replace someone like him, but as I said during the Champions Trophy, we have enough quality in the squad,”

India enter the series without several senior players, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, marking a transitional phase for the squad. With Gill at the helm and Gambhir overseeing strategic decisions, the team appears focused on balancing experience with fresh energy, while managing player workloads smartly over the course of a grueling five-Test contest.

India Test squad

Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav

This article first appeared on Mid Day