Jasprit Bumrah has confirmed that he’ll play the first India vs England Test at Headingley. When the squad for the 5-match tour was announced, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Bumrah won’t be playing more than 3 Test matches. Head coach Gautam Gambhir posed the question when Team India landed in England in early June but he didn’t specify which games the pacer would be available for.
Bumrah to play India vs England 1st Test
Well, Bumrah has made it clear that he’ll be available for the start of the series. Speaking to Dinesh Karthik, the unorthodox fast bowler stated that he and management aren’t yet sure which of the three Tests he’ll play.
Earlier, captain Shubman Gill had claimed that if matches end early or rain disrupts them, we could see Bumrah play more than 3 matches. But that may not happen now that the bowler has himself specified that his doctors and medical staff at BCCI have told him to play no more than 3 Test matches.
“Three Test matches is what I’m looking at. Obviously, the numbers (which Tests) aren’t decided. The first (Test) is definitely on. Yes, that is going to happen. Rest; we see how things are. What is the workload, and what are the scenarios going on. Three test matches are what I can manage at this moment, and I don’t want to be in a desperate scenario,” Bumrah told Sky Sports Cricket.
Why he declined Test captaincy
Bumrah has also revealed why he declined to become India’s Test captain. And he told Karthik that one reason why he couldn’t take the job was because it wouldn’t send a good message to the team if he sat out of 40% of the matches in England.
“If I had been the captain, I can’t say I would only play three matches. That doesn’t send a good message to the team. Keeping all of these things in mind, I’m trying to give my best as a player and trying to contribute to the best of my capacity, and hopefully in the games that I play I give it my absolute best,” Bumrah added.
