Will Jasprit Bumrah be rested for upcoming Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand? Will India reserve Bumrah for BGT 2024-25?
India finally broke the World Cup jinx by winning an ICC trophy after 11 long years. They became the two-time T20 World Champions in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024. A complete team effort from the ‘Men in Blue’ saw them have an unbeaten run in the tournament. Much of this was possible due to the presence of Jasprit Bumrah.
Termed a “once in a generation” bowler by Virat Kohli, Bumrah had an unforgettable World Cup where he picked up 15 wickets at an incredible economy rate of 4.18 in eight games. He was rightly adjudged the ‘player of the tournament’ for his breathtaking efforts in almost single-handedly winning games for India with the ball.
The focus for India under their new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, shifts to how this team can move forward regarding ICC tournaments. They have a handful of multi-national events, including the Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship (WTC) next year.
India have already lost two back-to-back WTC finals. They would want to set the record straight when it comes to the third time. With 68.52% PCT after playing nine Tests throughout three series, the Rohit Sharma-led side is sitting pretty at the top of the standings.
They still have a couple of home series versus Bangladesh and New Zealand before touring down under. This sequence comprises 10 Tests, and winning a chunk of those could potentially see India in the final of the WTC for the third straight time.
Jasprit Bumrah deserves adequate rest to be in good shape for WTC
However, to conquer Australia three times in a row and win the elusive WTC title, India will want their talismanic bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, at peak fitness. He had a lengthy injury layoff in 2023 and, as a result, had to miss the WTC final against Australia in the same year.
Being an all-format player, Bumrah has been playing continuously since then and has contributed greatly to India’s success in both the Cricket World Cup 2023 and the T20 World Cup 2024. Besides, he played in the Test series against England earlier this year before turning up for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
So, Bumrah has been on the road for a long period and deserves some rest ahead of the all-important Australia tour, the Champions Trophy, and quite possibly the WTC final in 2025.
Potential tours for Bumrah to be rested
With Tests and ODIs to be given more importance in the coming few months, India will likely give Burmah a break from the T20s, barring a few high-profile games. As mentioned, there are home Test series to be played against Bangladesh (2 games) and New Zealand (3 games). These would pose the team management with a dilemma.
With a lot of talented pacers to choose from, among the likes of Mohammad Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and others, India could afford to give Bumrah a break for these Tests between September and November. Shami especially needs game time, and these matches could help the pacer get his rhythm back after an injury layoff.
But with the Australia Tests starting immediately after the home season, an in-form Bumrah would be more lethal than a rusty one. So, India would be tempted to play the pacer in the New Zealand Tests on a rotation basis and potentially not include him for the inconsequential games.
As far as the tour down under is concerned, the team will look no further than the pace trio of Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj to deliver. Their contributions through the course of five Tests covering over two long months could very well be the difference in the team’s successful defence of the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
But for this, the new coaching staff led by Gambhir will have to manage the workload of their match-winner, Bumrah. Let us see how things unfold in the coming months.
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