India won the two Test matches Bumrah didn't play on the tour of England.
Jasprit Bumrah faced backlash for his workload management during the recently held Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The Indian team management had confirmed before the England tour that star quick would only participate in three of the five Tests.
Bumrah turned up in the first, third and fourth games and was rested for the second Test, which India won by 336 runs at Edgbaston.
Despite India being down 1-2, the No.1-ranked Test bowler didn’t feature in the series-decider at The Oval, where the visitors emerged victorious by a narrow margin of six runs to level the series 2-2.
There were some doubts on Bumrah's availability for the Asia Cup 2025 largely due to the proximity to the home Test series against the West Indies in October, but the selectors named him in the 15-member squad on Tuesday (August 19).
Following India's Asia Cup squad announcement, former cricketer Mohammed Kaif welcomed Jasprit Bumrah's return to the T20I set-up, asking his critics to "open their mouths carefully" on the "promising diamond of India".
"Sochke mooh kholna (Open your mouth carefully) because you mentioned that whatever matches we played in England, we lost when he played. You better look at how many matches he has played and India won them, go and find out that as well, regardless of the format. When he plays, how many times does he give match-winning performances? Go and find that stat as well. Bumrah is a promising diamond of India. You do not report him. There are no stains on him," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Bumrah picked up 14 wickets at an average of 26 in three appearances against England, but he seemed to be suffering from cramps and slight injuries in the penultimate Test at Old Trafford.
Kaif reiterated that the right-arm quick may not play Tests for too long after his recent injury struggles.
"I already said that Bumrah might not be seen playing long in Tests, but in white-ball cricket, if India comes in the Asia Cup final, then he might play seven games. He will bowl 28 overs (four overs per match), and I am speaking about a two or three-week-long tournament. There is no problem in bowling 28 overs; he will get time to recover. You can rest him in one odd match against Oman or weaker teams. After workload management and a break, he will be used. I think he would not face any issues in bowling four overs. You need Bumrah in T20 because he can change the course of the game with his bowling," he added.
Kaif, however, was left surprised by Mohammed Siraj’s snub from the Asia Cup squad. Siraj was the leading wicket-taker during the England tour with 23 scalps in five Tests.
"There is no Mohammed Siraj as well, and he will be missed because of the form he was in, the way he bowled in England, bowled longer spells in each game. By bowling that much, you have the bowling form. He plays IPL and picked up wickets as well. If you see, he is bowling exceedingly well in the first 10-12 matches. So, I am surprised he was not in the 20-member side," Kaif stated.
"I am disappointed because he finished the series 2-2 on his own. We know how well he bowled, and when you have the form, you want to back that bowler, and that is why I am disappointed not to see him in the Asia Cup. He is an equally brilliant bowler even in white-ball cricket," he remarked.
India will open their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against UAE on September 10 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.