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On Saturday, May 24, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s 18-member squad for the highly-anticipated five-match Test series against England, scheduled to be played from June 20 till August 4. With the massive announcement, the BCCI also named new skipper of the side in the longest format in Shubman Gill, following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test earlier this month.
While the name was long in news ever since Rohit Sharma’s retirement, star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was named his deputy in the format. The decision from the Indian apex board came after star pacer, Jasprit Bumrah reportedly informed the members of his unavailability in all matches due to his fitness and workload management.
Jasprit Bumrah will not be available for all five Tests against England: Ajit Agarkar
After a report in The Indian Express stated that Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to play all five Tests in the upcoming tour as he informed the BCCI that his body can’t take the toll of more than three Test matches, Agarkar reiterated on the same lines when being questioned on Bumrah being denied the leadership role.
Speaking at the press conference, Agarkar, who was joined by Shiv Sundar Das, said, “pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available for all five Test against England from what physiotherapists have told us.” Earlier a report citing The Indian Express stated, as quoted by NDTV Sports, “With Jasprit Bumrah already informing the board that his body can't take the toll of more than three Tests matches, the selection committee were known to be in a dilemma on whether to fly out with a similarly iffy bowler.”
India's Test squad for England series
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
