Why, when Jasprit Bumrah was very certain to miss the India vs. Bangladesh series, did Agarkar and the BCCI speed-dial him for the first Test?
September 19 will mark Jasprit Bumrah’s first India match since the T20 World Cup final against Bangladesh.
Why isn’t anyone discussing Jasprit Bumrah’s selection in the Indian side for the first Test match against Bangladesh? It’s as significant a milestone as Yash Dayal receiving his first call-up, after all. Shortly after the Duleep Trophy first-round matches ended on Sunday, the BCCI wasted no time in announcing India’s 16-man squad for the first Test against Bangladesh. However, while everyone was focused on Rishabh Pant’s historic return to the whites following his car crash two years prior, Bumrah’s return went unnoticed.
Why is this unexpected? Because it appeared as though Bumrah will miss India’s opening two Test matches of the new domestic season. Given Bumrah’s history of stress fractures and the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which begins later this year, there was a general belief that he would return for the three Test matches against New Zealand, using them as a warm-up for the five Tests in Australia. Actually, a PTI story from August 15 cited a BCCI source who said the following.
“Bumrah is the one who understands his body the best, therefore it will be up to him whether or not he wants to participate in the Test match against Bangladesh. The team management and selectors have made it quite evident that Jasprit Bumrah must be fully fit for all five of India’s Test matches against Australia in Australia. Prior to that, he would likely play and prepare for the more difficult exams in New Zealand, which is in India.”
“Bumrah is the one who understands his body the best, therefore it will be up to him whether or not he wants to participate in the Test match against Bangladesh. The team management and selectors have made it quite evident that Jasprit Bumrah must be fully fit for all five of India’s Test matches against Australia in Australia. Prior to that, he would likely play and prepare for the more difficult exams in New Zealand, which is in India.”
After around 25 days, what do you believe has changed? Was it the pain from Bangladesh’s historic 2-0 victory over Pakistan or the injuries sustained by India in their ODI series loss to Sri Lanka? Apparently, both contributed to Bumrah’s comeback. The BCCI was prepared to alter the fast bowling lineup for India. Selectors led by Ajit Agarkar were inclined to assemble a more younger-looking pace assault, probably including the left-arm combo of India D’s Arshdeep Singh and India A’s Khaleel Ahmed. But neither of them was selected; instead, they locked horns with Yash Dayal and Akash Deep to form a four-pronged pace attack with Mohammed Siraj and Bumrah.
This is the reason. Against Sri Lanka, the Indian bowling arsenal lacked bite, with Siraj and Arshdeep falling short of expectations. The loss of Bumrah was felt greatly as India’s bowlers failed to put the finishing touches on a Sri Lankan side that was struggling. In addition, the absence of Hardik Pandya meant that India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir was obliged to rely on Riyan Parag and other part-time off-spinners as his backup fifth bowling option. India cannot afford to play an unpredictable team like Bangladesh without their best bowler, especially with cricket returning to Indian soil and the match being played in Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium, a field that Bangladesh spinners will love to bowl on. Mehidy Hasan, who took 10 wickets in the Pakistan Tests, and Shakib-Al-Hasan offer a threat.
Not taking any chances
Bangladesh nearly won their first Test match against India in December 2022, but Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin helped them back home. Iyer is not in the squad this time, and it is understandable that KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, who both missed a significant portion of the series against England, are rusty given that they are playing Test cricket again after a break in February. Although Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin’s comeback bolster India’s spin attack, it makes sense that the squad is reluctant to take a chance on their pacers.
A photo of Bumrah striking the nets surfaced last week, giving rise to speculation about his upcoming comeback. Since India’s victory in the T20 World Cup, he has not participated in any competitive cricket matches, missing the tours to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He may be a little rusty at first, of course. But then, will he? We are talking about Bumrah, after all.
Bumrah’s actions and the need to control his workload led several Indian cricketers to believe not too long ago that it would be preferable to rest him during home Test series and unleash him abroad. But that story seems to have changed. Bumrah had an enormous impact on the India vs. England series earlier this year. He claimed 19 wickets from four Test matches, with a best of 6/45. He needs to be just as productive in India as he is elsewhere. He doesn’t care about the pitch, conditions, ball, or teams, therefore when India was scheduled to play ten very important Tests ahead of the World Test Championship final, it was obvious that Bumrah would be included. Had Shami—who was all but guaranteed to be in the series—been
