The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to play Jasprit Bumrah in the India vs Afghanistan series. The fast bowler, who has been playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, has been playing non-stop cricket since late January.
Jasprit Bumrah to play in IND vs AFG series
The BCCI has managed Bumrah’s workload exceptionally well for the last couple of years and even rested him during the England vs India Test series last year. However, the board feels there’s no need to rest Bumrah right now. According to PTI, the fast bowler will feature in either the one-off Test, starting June 6 in New Chandigarh, or the 3-match ODI series from June 14 against Afghanistan.
After aiding India in defending their T20 World Cup title, Bumrah took a brief 3-week break and has featured in all matches for MI in IPL 2026. In fact, he even made his captaincy debut in the league recently. Despite 4 months of rigorous cricket, it’s decided that Bumrah will play against Afghanistan.
ODIs or one-off Test, what should Bumrah play?
Since MI’s campaign ends on May 24, Bumrah will have less than 2 weeks to recover if selected for the Test squad, which is expected to come out on May 19. It was previously reported that the 32-year-old will be rested for the one-off Test, considering it’s not part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025-27.
Fresh off a hectic IPL season, it makes sense to rest Bumrah and test others like Auqib Nabi, Prasidh Krishna, or Anshul Kamboj, all of whom are in the reckoning in Harshit Rana and Akash Deep’s absence due to injury. It’ll be a perfect way to prepare for the Sri Lanka tour in August.
Bumrah hasn’t played an ODI since November 19. Considering the ODI World Cup 2027 is the next ICC tournament, the BCCI is creating a roadmap for the event. By giving him an extra week off and building his workload via ODIs instead of Test cricket, Bumrah can be eased back into competitive cricket and get into the rhythm of 50-over cricket.
India vs Afghanistan series schedule
| Day | Date | Time (IST) | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | June 6-10 | 9:30 AM | one-off Test | New Chandigarh |
| Sunday | June 14 | 1:30 PM | 1st ODI | Dharamshala |
| Wednesday | June 17 | 1:30 PM | 2nd ODI | Lucknow |
| Saturday | June 20 | 1:30 PM | 3rd ODI | Chennai |
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