He sustained a back injury during the BGT series 2024-25.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has advised the current management of Team India to be very careful regarding the fitness of their ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Shastri has suggested they play him two matches at a time in red-ball cricket to lessen the injury risks.
“I would be very, very careful [with Bumrah]. I would give him two Tests at a time and then wait for the break. Ideally, make him play four. You’ll be tempted to make him play five if he starts in a great manner, but it’s how his body pulls up,” he opined in The ICC Review.
The 1983 World Cup winner believes that the pacer should get a break in between a long Test series to realise if he is feeling a little niggle.
“He should be given the first opportunity to say, ‘Yes, a little, [I am] feeling the niggle. A break would help.’ Give him that break,” urged Shastri.
Notably, the 31-year-old sustained a back injury during the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in Sydney earlier this year. Previously, he had undergone a back surgery a few years ago.
Recently, former New Zealand bowler Shane Bond also warned India. He feels that if Bumrah picks up one more injury, it might be a career-ending one.
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Bumrah also missed India’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign and the initial matches of his Indian Premier League (IPL) for his franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI). However, he has recently made a comeback for MI in the IPL 2025. He has scalped five wickets in as many matches at an impressive economy of 7.90 so far.
Rohit Sharma and Co. will don the whites for a five-match Test series in England. They will look to make a strong comeback after back-to-back losses in red-ball cricket.
The Black Caps handed them a 3-0 whitewash at home in November 2024. Then, India failed to defend the BGT on Australian soil after winning the prestigious series successively in 2018 and 2021.
The England series will kick off in Headingley on June 20.
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