Team India's one of the finest pacers, Jasprit Bumrah, will play only 3 tests out of the five-match test series against England. We came to know about this decision after the squad was selected for the England tour, but all this was decided at the time of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. This was recently revealed by India's former strength and conditioning head coach, Soham Desai.
Bumrah played all 5 tests against Australia in the BGT; however, he suffered from a back spasm in the Sydney test, which was the last test. Due to which he missed competitive cricket for three months, which also included a big tournament like the Champions Trophy, and fortunately India won that tournament in his absence.
Now, as only one day is left for the start of the second test, there are high chances that Bumrah might miss the second test, which will be played at Edgbaston, and that too in such a situation where India can be 0-2 in the series. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna disappointed a lot in the first test as they leaked many runs consistently, which reduced the pressure on England.
If we talk about Bumrah's performance, then he bowled a total of 43.4 overs in Headingley; he got 5 wickets in the first innings and remained wicketless in the second, and England easily achieved the target of 371 runs and took a 1-0 lead in the series. There was a gap of a full 7 days for the start of the second test; now it is hoped that Bumrah might be available for the third test, which will be played at Lord's Cricket Ground.
Soham Desai said in a recent interview,
"When Bumrah could not make it to the Champions Trophy, India's Future Tour Programme (FTP) was studied, and it was decided that he would play only three Tests in England."
Desai also said that the management takes initial decisions according to the workload, but it was up to Jasprit Bumrah to take the final call. Further, he said,
"After this it depends on the team management and the bowler. It is his decision. If Bumrah feels that it is a crucial turning point in the series, he usually reconsiders his plan. But every time he breaks down, he should keep in mind the mental stress he goes through."
Soham also told us that the management decides before the start of the test how many overs Bumrah will bowl in total. He said that Bumrah suffered from a back injury because he was given too many overs in the Melbourne Test against Australia.
He said,
"I've known him since his ACL injury in 2014, when he used to play with the Gujarat domestic team. He always tries to understand how his body reacts in different situations. Bumrah has to bowl a certain number of overs in every Test. Anyone can bowl five to seven overs more than that limit, but it has to be seen how the extra overs are bowled. In the last Test series, he bowled extra overs at the MCG, but he was not given much time in between. This increased the workload on him, which led to his back injury in Sydney."