Jasprit Bumrah picked a fifer at Lord’s in the third Test between England and India recently, but the hosts ended up victors by just 22 runs. This was Bumrah’s only second Test of the series, having played at Headingley and sitting out at Edgbaston.
Now with India down 1-2 in the series, the fourth Test against England in Manchester becomes a must-win game for the visitors, and focus shifted to whether Jasprit Bumrah will play in the 4th and 5th Tests, which are practically back to back.
Ajit Agarkar, the Indian cricket team's top selector, stated ahead of the England series that Bumrah will be unavailable for all five matches.
In response to Bumrah's case, former India player Dilip Vengsarkar stated that players must play all of the series' matches and that there should be no "personal preference".
"I'm not in favour of bowlers picking and choosing Test matches. If you're fit and available, you should play all the matches for your country. Bumrah is a world-class bowler, and he can win matches for India. But once you're on tour, you need to play every match. There's no question of selecting matches based on personal preference," Vengsarkar told RevSportz.
The notion of giving Bumrah a break in between series came about after the bowler was injured while playing all five Tests in Australia in 2024-25. The injury caused the bowler to miss three months of competitive cricket.
"What is important is playing for India, and if you are unfit, then don't play at all. He had a gap of almost 7-8 days after the first Test match, but still was not included for the second Test, which was not acceptable. Maybe it was acceptable for Agarkar and Gambhir," said Vengsarkar.
The fourth Test begins on July 23 at Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester.
