Jasprit Bumrah lost vice-captaincy due to the same reason.
The BCCI panel released the India Test squad for the upcoming England tour only a few minutes ago. During the press conference, the chief selector Ajit Agarkar dropped a bombshell on the availability of Jasprit Bumrah.
Agarkar mentioned, “Don’t think he’ll be available for all five Tests. Whether it’s four or three, we’ll see based on how the series goes and his workload is. Even if he’s fit for 3-4 Tests, he’ll be an asset for us. Just happy he’s part of the squad.”
The 31-year-old fast bowler is returning from a relapse of a back injury during India’s last Test assignment Down Under. Subsequently, he missed the Champions Trophy 2025 and a few games of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
Bumrah has been advised to start managing his workload wisely, as another back injury will be career-threatening. As a result, Bumrah will not play all five games in the Test series.
Injury concerns also stood as an obstacle to naming Bumrah as the vice-captain. It is vital for a player to feature in the full match when being named as a captain or vice-captain. Undoubtedly, Bumrah as a player is more important than handling the leadership role. Additionally, his presence in the squad can help guide the youngsters, especially in tough English conditions.
“More important to us a player. Once you’re managing people, there’s a lot that takes out of you. We’ve had a chat with him, he’s okay with it. He knows where his body’s at. With Booms, it was more about his workload management.”
Notably, BCCI has shown faith in young blood for the upcoming tour. Shubman Gill has taken over the reins from Rohit Sharma to lead India in Tests, while Rishabh Pant is named as his deputy.
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Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk and vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
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