The BCCI is thinking of changing the way they pick players, especially when it comes to Jasprit Bumrah.
According to TOI, they will only pick Bumrah for future Test series if he can play all the games. This is different from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy situation where he said he could only play three games and the team agreed to it.
So he sat out after the first Test. Even though a new bowling lineup helped the team win the second game, he came back for the next two games. He was still the team’s best bowler, took 14 wickets at 26, but seemed to have cramps and minor injuries in the fourth game. So he rested again for the final Test.
A BCCI insider said while coaches can set workload limits for each player, Bumrah’s availability should depend on his fitness which the medical team will check.
India doesn’t have any five-Test series till at least July 2026 but Bumrah plays all three formats for the country and is very important in each one.
Team rejects Bumrah is ‘picking and choosing’.
India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate responded to the idea that Bumrah was picking and choosing Tests. After the first day he said it wasn’t fair to say and the team decided which games he would play.
Read Also:- Chris Woakes Ruled Out of Final Test Due to Injury
Ten Doeschate said Bumrah is a complex issue. They want him to play but they also want to consider his body. They felt it wasn’t worth putting him in the squad based on that. He added it’s not right to say Bumrah is picking and choosing because he said he would play three games and let the team decide which ones. They tried to manage the situation and it’s important to give attention to the players who aren’t playing, especially when you have 18 players.
Bumrah’s injury problems didn’t just appear. He played all five Tests against Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and was overbowled. He even said on the stump mic that he couldn’t push himself anymore. He got hurt in the last Test and had bowled the most overs in the series then.
