Jasprit Bumrah has made himself available for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament.
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has warned ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah that while his fitness is of utmost importance, nobody is indispensable in Indian cricket. This came after the much-debated decision of Bumrah to play only three Tests on the recent tour of England, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
India lost two tests and drew one in which Bumrah played, taking 14 wickets, including two fifers, and bowling almost 120 overs. It was already decided that Bumrah, who had returned to action after missing three months due to a back stress reaction, would play only three tests on the England tour.
While others believe that Bumrah's level of fitness is crucial, luminaries like Sunil Gavaskar and Sandip Patil think that nothing else counts while you're representing your country.
Gavaskar has been very outspoken about his opinion of Bumrah. Now that Bumrah has supposedly made himself available for another important squad selection that is scheduled for the Asia Cup, Gavaskar has stoked controversy by bringing up the subject.
Gavaskar has urged the importance of prioritizing Bumrah's assignments while questioning the decision to rest the pacer in the Birmingham and Oval Tests.
"Nobody is indispensable. That’s why it is of prime importance for the selectors to now decide when Jasprit Bumrah should be playing. There's already been a lot of debate about his appearances in the recently concluded series in England. To be fair, he had informed the selection committee that he could play only three tests out of the five.
The debate that has generated some heat is whether he should have played the last must-win Test match, especially since it was the grassiest pitch at the Oval in a long time. The next Test match was in early October, and so there were two clear months for him to rest and recover in time for that. The Indian team management stated that he wasn't picked considering his future. This is where the lines between what is good for the individual and what is good for Indian cricket got a little blurred," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.
"Surely at that stage, if he was fit, then for India cricket's sake, he had to play. Whether it was his call or the management’s call not to play is not known, but in the end, after India’s win, it showed once again, if ever there was a need to know, that nobody is indispensable in the game. The game just moves on,” he added.
With the new WTC 2025-27 cycle starting well for the Indian team, contrary to the notion that he should be rested in advance of the three ODIs and five T20Is in Australia beginning at the end of October, Gavaskar believes Bumrah should play in the next four Test matches for India, two against the West Indies and two against South Africa.
"That's why now comes the tricky decision for the selectors. What is more important? Qualifying for the World Test Championship or playing some bilateral white ball games that have no bearing at all. If India has to qualify for the WTC, then Jasprit Bumrah, being the premier fast bowler in the game, has to play in the four tests that India has lined up between early October and late November. There's a gap of a month between these tests against West Indies and South Africa, which means that he should be rested for the white ball series. That should be the logic, but then Indian cricket has got its logic, as was seen in the recently concluded series," Gavaskar explained.
"The selection committee has taken some bold calls in choosing the squads, which have shown remarkable results, and they have to be lauded for that, but when it comes to the selection of the final XI, that is entirely the management’s call, and that’s how it should be," he signed off.
It remains to be seen whether Jasprit Bumrah will be picked for the Asia Cup and if he plays all four tests at home as Gavaskar wants.