Selectors change their mind over resting Bumrah for 1st Test vs Bangladesh

The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel made a quick U-turn on Jasprit Bumrah's workload management. From initial reports suggesting that the board was willing to rest the ace seamer for the first series of the upcoming home season, the BCCI picking Bumrah for the first Test against Bangladesh raised some eyebrows. So, what prompted the selectors to name him in the Test squad?

India is scheduled to play ten Tests until January next year, including two against Bangladesh, three against New Zealand, both at home and five against Australia Down Under. Though India had enough options to choose from (from a pool of fast bowlers) for the Bangladesh series, even in Mohammed Shami's absence, they still picked Bumrah to have a psychological edge over Bangladesh.

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah and Yash Dayal.

Meanwhile, the BCCI named a 16-man squad for the first Test starting on September 19 in Chennai, with Rishabh Pant's return and Yash Dayal's maiden India call-up made headlines. The board picked four seamers in Bumrah, Dayal, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, alongside four spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.

Considering the Chepauk pitch historically assists spinners, the hosts could play as many as three in the first match, with Siraj set to be among the two pacers.

Though Akash Deep is leading the race to play second seamer following his impressive Duleep Trophy first-round showing, wherein he picked nine wickets for India A, Bumrah's selection could force the captain Rohit Sharma and newly-appointed Team India coach Gautam Gambhir to play him.

The only understandable reason behind this could be India's hunger for the win, as during the previous white-ball series against Sri Lanka, the pacers lacked the zeal, as India lost the ODIs (0-2) for the first time since 1997.

The Indian Team is on the top of the current WTC cycle, with Australia following them in second place. Though India is unlikely to slip from that position, given their latest performances and rapid rise in this format since the past decade, Gautam and Rohit would not want any stone left unturned in their quest to stay on the top and eventually win an ICC trophy.

However, on August 15, a BCCI source detailed plans for managing Bumrah's workload, saying, "In the case of Bumrah, he knows his body the best, and it will be up to him if he wants to play in the Tests against Bangladesh. The team management and selectors are very clear that India needs a 120 per cent fit Jasprit Bumrah for all five Tests against Australia Down Under. Before that, there is New Zealand in India, where he will probably play and get ready for the sterner tests."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's mighty Test series win over Pakistan in Pakistan might have also pushed the BCCI to bring back Bumrah for the first Test

Source: Hiru News