The suspense over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation in the Asia Cup 2025 is over. The senior India pacer is set to play in the T20 continental tournament, starting 9 September in the UAE, after weeks of speculation over his fitness and workload management.
Bumrah, who played three Tests in the India vs England Test series, reportedly sat out the final match due to a knee niggle. With a home Test series against the West Indies beginning on 2 October (4 days after the Asia Cup final), there were doubts about whether the selectors would risk playing their premier fast bowler in the Asia Cup.
Asia Cup squad on Aug 19-20
But according to a PTI report, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is convinced that the 31-year-old will have enough time to rest and recover before the competition. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is expected to name the Asia Cup squad on August 19 or 20, once the Centre of Excellence’s Sports Science team submits the medical updates for all players, including captain Suryakumar Yadav, who has resumed batting at the nets in Bengaluru.
Fascinatingly, if included, we would see the golden fast bowling duo of Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh once again after they put up a stellar display at the T20 World Cup 2024. Both can be considered two of India’s all-time greatest T20 pacers.
Workload management continues for Bumrah
While Bumrah’s inclusion for the Asia Cup is all but confirmed, the selectors are also weighing up a rotation plan for the weeks ahead. The Asia Cup final is slated for 28 September, leaving only four days before the opening Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad.
Given the quick turnaround, BCCI officials are considering resting Bumrah for the first of the two Tests to avoid overloading him so soon after a high-intensity T20 campaign. There is even the option of sitting him out for the entire West Indies series, but with valuable World Test Championship (WTC) points at stake, that move appears less likely. India head into the Asia Cup as heavy favourites, with the best T20I side in the tournament, Sri Lanka, ranked seventh in the ICC T20I rankings.
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